The Ashington Tales
by Gabrielle Miriam
Summary: OC-centric, Based on MCU. What happens when the Krino, King of Candor, decides that it's not safe enough for his children to go without bodyguards? With all the crap that Krino's Kid, Marley Sheppard, has gone through the past year, she is not taking the whole idea too well. But when she starts realizing that this kid is everything she wants to be, she starts warming up to him.
1. Chapter 1

**We're going down, down in an earlier round**

 **And sugar, we're going down swinging**

 **I'll be your number one with a bullet**

 **A loaded god complex, cock it and—**

"Excuse me," I yelled at the jerk who yanked my headphone out of my ear.

"Dude," Luke, my brother, sassed back to me. "Practice is over, and we got people to meet. Places to see."

My brother hoisted me out of his golf cart I had been relaxing in for the past hour. Staying late and catching a ride with him beat walking the two miles home. It didn't sound that long, but after a long day at the zoo, it definitely was.

You see, a few months ago Churchill University campus was hit by a massive storm, still an unknown cause. It wasn't hurricane season. And even if it was a hurricane, it was the strongest hurricane in the history of the country of Candor.

After all the chaos and destruction, my dad decided to pay a visit to the campus and enforced new guidelines to get the school back on its feet, running smoother than it did before the storm. Since then, everyone listened to his direction and the school was pretty much back to running like normal. Well, everyone pretty much had to listen to him. He is the Krino. Or as other country's would say, the King.

"Since when do we have people to meet?" I trailed behind Luke as always. Somehow his legs always were able to keep him two steps ahead of me.

"Since I got this text from dad—" Luke handed me his phone.

 _ **Luke, you and Marley need to meet the new defense commander at the auditorium this afternoon. Please be prompt.**_

"Defense commander?" I raised an eyebrow. "Since when are we dragged into the armed forces?"

"I guess since dad considers us at risk."

"At risk?" I exclaimed, trudging up the Churchill stairs towards the auditorium. "Risk of what? Having a giant storm swoop in and sweep us awaya? I think it already had its chance."

"Unfortunately, they believe someone is behind it."

I cocked an eyebrow at my brother as he held the auditorium door open for me.

"Marley, Luke, welcome."

I nodded at the lady with short brown hair standing near the stage of the auditorium. I don't recall ever seeing her before in my life.

"Helga Ogelbach. She's the head of homeland security." Luke whispered in my ear. I swear we had twin telepathy. Except we weren't twins. And I'm pretty sure him reading the confused look on my face was not telepathy.

Luke and I took a seat in the front row. Several rows behind us were filled with numerous faces I had never seen before.

"Krino Sheppard sent us here on urgent matters. With in-depth analysts researching the origin of Storm OCT that hit last year in October, hence, the name, Storm OCT, more details are being uncovered with evidence leaning towards the idea that the storm was built by external satellites in the atmosphere above Candor. Thankfully, the environmental and technology team here at Candor has created equipment that can radioactively disperse any size of storm, breaking it into less severe, smaller storms. Thank you, team."

The room roared with applause. I glanced over my shoulder, spotting Corey McFadden. I had first met Corey right before the storm grew. Corey had immense talent in the arts, and since Churchill was a talented arts school, I had brought Corey to the director, PJ's, attention. Since I was PJ's prodigy, he always took my recommendations. Since then, Corey had gone from acting in the Churchill auditorium to developing somce of the most complex equipment Candor had invented to date.

We had a rocky relationship. Corey being a few years younger me put a damper in our growing feelings for each other. Since then, we decided to put our feelings on the back burner. He had greater things going for them, and I wanted to be there for him, supporting him as a friend. It made things less complicated anyways, seeing as I was just getting over a major heartbreak.

Long story short, I was in love with this guy who was already engaged. Now he's happily married. End of story. Or that story at least.

"May I divert your attention to Gerard Bentley, the newly appointed defense commander."

I groaned, turning to my brother. "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

"Thank you, thank you." Gerard took to the front of the auditorium. "It is so great that you can be with me here. This amazing place just brings back so many memories. Right, Mars?" He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. Ever since I met Gerard, he always knew how to make me feel the most uncomfortable. One of my first memories of him were people mistaking us for a couple. We walked in the room together, Gerard holding the door open for me, and the rumors just started. And Gerard would feed right into them— posing with his arm around my waist, telling the reporters he was taking me out for dinner later that night. And all because he knew just how to get under my skin.

On one hand, Corey was too young for me, while on the other hand, Gerard was practically ten years older than me, which was pushing it.

"On behalf of the Krino's orders, I have brought the best and the strongest superheroes Candor has yet to know. They have been brought here to not only guard Churchill campus, but also, our very own KKs, the Krino Kids." Gerard waved his hand towards us.

I turned towards my brother and whispered in his ear. "I don't need a bodyguard."

My brother waved me away, telling me to shush.

"Marley," Gerard turned towards me, a suspicious glint in his eyes. "You'll be with Deadpool."

"To hell she's not." My brother stood up. "You better not set my little sister up with the perviest, most inappropriate superhero you have on your so-called team. No, I do not approve."

"Well, then, Sir Luke," Gerard said satirically. "Your body guard will be our very own Black Widow." I glanced behind me towards the grimly dressed red-head, who obviously had my brother enthralled as his mouth gaped open.

"Luke," I stood up, tugging his arm to knock him out of the hypnosis.

"Don't worry, Marley, I got some good eye candy set up for you too."

I rolled my eyes at Gerard's comment.

"Peter Parker, front and center."

I watched a boy slightly taller than me, though roughly the same age, stand from the middle of the group to come forward to where the three of us were standing at the front.

Eye candy or not. "I don't need a bodyguard." I told Gerard, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Oh, sorry, one second. I'm getting a call." Gerard held his hand up towards me. "Hello? Oh, yes, Krino. I'm just here with your daughter. She's telling me that she refuses to take the bodyguard that you assigned her. Oh.. Mmhmm.. Yes.. Okay, I'll let her know."

I rolled my eyes again at his mockery of a conversation.

"That was your father. He said to stop being a bratty little princess and take what is given to you."

Leave it to Gerard to backtalk a Krino's Kid. I stormed out of the auditorium, muttering inaudibly to myself certain words of disgust.

There was no way I was having a bodyguard that followed me around 24/7.

The fact that my father thought we were in that much danger that we needed this type of protection was absurd. Didn't he know I was trained in self-defense? I don't need a boy to watch over my every move.

Speaking of the boy.. I heard footsteps approach me from behind.

I quickened my pace, trying to distance myself from whoever was following me.

Unfortunately, they were able to keep up without any hesitation.

After contemplating my options, which were between darting off hoping that I would lose them or turning around and attacking directly, I decided on a happy medium.

"What are you doing?" I whipped around, nearly making the boy smack directly into me.

The boy answered in a raspy voice that seemed too high-pitched for any manly superhero. "My job."

"No.. No, no, no. There is no job. Go home," I grabbed the boy by his shoulders and turned him around back towards the auditorium.

"You see, I would, but I can't." The boy… Peter, was his name?… turned back around to face me.

"And why not?" I tapped my foot, clearly aggravated.

Peter sighed. "This is my first assignment. Mister Bentley never assigned me to any job before. This may be the only chance I get to prove myself." His eyes met mine, seriousness written all over his face. "Without this job, I'm normal. I have to go back home to north and go to school like any other kid. Do you know how boring the North is? Have you ever been to North Candor?"

"A little," I diverted my gaze away from him, trying not to show too much interest.

"Please, Miss Sheppard, I'll keep my distance. You won't even know I'm here."

"Marley."

The boy raised his eyebrows at me.

"If you're going to blend in, you need to call me Marley."

The boy threw his fists in the air. "You won't regret it. I promise. Whatever you want me to do—"

"Okay, okay. Quiet down. I don't need the whole school to know that I have a bodyguard. Just.. I don't know.. Walk me home?"

"First assignment, you got it." Peter started walking right next to my side, our arms practically touching.

"Peter, you know that thing you said about keeping your distance—"

"Right, right. Distance. Sorry." He slowed his pace, following me a few meters away instead of right by my side.

I smirked with satisfaction. At least he learns quick.


	2. Chapter 2

"The second door down the hall is my room. The third is your room. Second is my room. Third is your room. You come in my room, that will be the last time you will be seeing anything at all." I placed a set of bed sheets in Peter's arms.

"Got it. Second is my room."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Kidding. I'm just kidding. I got it, Marley. Don't worry."

"I have to be on campus at eight tomorrow morning. Don't miss it." I warned Peter before heading to bed.

Once I got my sweatpants on and my hair thrown up in a messy bun, I collapsed onto my bed and plugged in my headphones.

In reality, I was trying to drowned out all the stress I knew would come with tomorrow.

Foxes, dolphins, penguins… I ran through the list over and over again of all the animals that needed grooming tomorrow. Recently, I had received a new accomplice, Steve, but, that's all he was. He was eager to learn, but slow at it. Then again, it may be due to the fact that he was ten years younger than me. I couldn't expect too much from him.

Eventually, I drifted away into the music.

 _ **Some superhero, Some fairytale bliss**_

 _ **Just someone I can turn to**_

 _ **Somebody I can kiss, I want something just like this**_

My eyes shot open. Oh gosh, did I forget to set an alarm? It's like 9 in the morning, I know it is.

I flipped over to see that my clock only said 12:00.

I groaned loudly. Midnight!? I felt as if I had slept all night. Nonetheless, it took me forever to get to sleep.

I pulled an earphone out.

"You're hilarious!" I heard a voice travel from the coffee shop downstairs. Living above a coffee shop had its perk and its downfalls— being awoken to annoying high school girls at godforsaken hours of the night was one of the downfalls.

Yawning, I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to tell whoever it was to shut up. Where was Joe when you needed him? Joe, my brother's best friend and the coffee shop owner, was out of town helping his family in the south who had been hit bad by the storm. Usually, he was the one to shut these type of people up.

I reached the bottom step to find Peter on the couch with Sabrina. Sabrina was a good friend of Riley's who was a good friend of mine. We merely have seen and talked in passing.. That and she was one of those girls that always got attention based off of her looks. Sabrina was really gorgeous, even as I watched from the steps as she flipped her curly blond hair never breaking eye contact with Peter.

I walked quietly over to the coffee bar, hoping they would notice me. Of course they never did.

"So, where are you staying?" Sabrina asked Peter.

"Here actually."

"Oh! You're taking Joe's room while he's gone? That's exciting. Looks like you'll be spending lots of time with us Churchill kids."

Sabrina used to live in the coffee shop after I moved out the first time. Again, long story short, I moved out to live on campus, but our dorms were destroyed in the storm. Therefore, Sabrina and our mutual friend Riley moved back on campus where the high schoolers dorm was left undamaged, and I moved back in with Joe and Luke.

I grabbed a mug off the shelf, getting ready to brew a cup of coffee. Good late night snack, right?

"Well, if you need any assistance on campus, let me know. I'll give you an in-depth tour."

I grabbed the coffee pot, my eyebrows scrunched together. Who does Sabrina think she is? Just throwing herself at whatever guy she can find. Plus, at a coffee shop at midnight? She needs to be getting home.

I was so caught up, keeping a careful eye on Sabrina with Peter, that I hadn't noticed my coffee overflowing over the cup I was holding. At least, not until it started burning my skin.

"Oh, crap…" I tried being as quiet as possible, but dropping the mug onto the counter did not help at all.

"Oh, hey, Mars. I didn't even see you there." Sabrina finally glanced back towards the coffee bar, where I was angrily fumbling with the coffee pot and mug.

 _Don't be a jerk. Do not be a jerk to her._ "Oh, yeah, hey, Sabrina." I put on the most feigned smile I could conjure up.

"I was just telling Peter all about Churchill. Have you two met yet?" She said, her eyes glowing with delight.

"Yeah, I'm her—"

"We've met—"

I interrupted Peter mid-sentence. For some reason Sabrina was one of the people I did not want knowing I have a bodyguard.

Awkward silence ensued.

"We're new friends." I said, flashing Sabrina a small grin.

"Well then, don't forget to show him your zoo." Sabrina said, finally standing up from the couch.

My heart rate slowed, knowing she wasn't going to be making any more moves on any guys tonight.

"Your zoo?" Peter asked, sipping a cup that was sitting on the coffee table.

"Marley didn't tell you? She runs the campus zoo."

"No way." Peter said, his eyes told no lie. He really did seem to be interested.

"Animal sanctuary." I corrected Sabrina. "They're injured animals that we take in and care for. I used to have a mentor, but… it's a long story. It's just me and one other person right now taking care of them. But yeah.. That's where I am most days." I chuckled.

"So cool." Peter commented.

"Yeah, well, don't let the lions and bears scare him off, Mars. It'd be a shame for him to not want to stay." Sabrina faced me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she trying to say?

"Anyways, good night you two. I'll be fine walking home alone. In the dark." She paused before finally heading out the door.

Peter stood from the couch, carrying his mug over to the coffee bar where I was still cleaning up my mess behind the counter.

"And there you have it, Churchill's up and coming queen bee." I said.

"She's fierce." Peter commented.

I scoffed. "Yeah, that's one word for it.."

I wiped up the rest of the spilt coffee and rung the rag out in the sink.

"Whoa." Peter took my hand soaked in coffee and examined the blister burn that had found its way to the surface.

I pulled my hand out of his grasp. "It's nothing. It's just a minor burn."

"I heard stories."

I glanced up at Peter. "Stories?"

"Did you really cut off your own finger to get the poison gem out of your system?"

I raised my left hand. "You got me." I wiggled my fingers, emphasizing the fact that my ring finger was missing.

"There's good gems and bad gems. We thought it would be a good gem. I mean, my dad had it engraved into my finger thinking it would give me this safe zone. Nothing could hurt me, you know? Flying bullets coming at me would just dissolve in thin air once they got close. And, I mean, it was cool and all, but it had some side effects that I just.. I couldn't live with."

Peter chuckled. "Well, it's good to know you're not psychotic, because that's what alot of people thought when they heard that a KK cut off her own finger."

I smirked. "Honestly, I'm still recovering from the damages of that gem, I still can barely feel pain. I guess that's why this silly burn doesn't even hurt." I tossed the rag down on the counter.

I looked up at Peter, watching my every move. He didn't utter another word, just watched.

I clicked my tongue. "Well, I'm tired, and we have a big day tomorrow. So.. Good night?"

"See you tomorrow." Peter said, heading up the stairs.

"Eight o' clock sharp." I emphasized, watching the boy job swiftly up the stairs.

"Shame for him not to want to stay…" I thought to myself. _We'll see.._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone! Being an amateur Marvel fan, I'm trying to keep the characters as much in character as MCU has revealed. Some questions have come up about the setting of the story. To find out more about Candor, the country this story takes place, you can visit the link to my wattpad that is on my profile.**

 **As far as merging Candor and Marvel, here's some background. Marley is 20, as is Peter. So, this takes place after Homecoming, and is assuming that mostly everything's stayed the same since. Peter Parker is still our friendly neighborhood Spiderman, portrayed by Tom Holland who is my favorite Spiderman to date. That is Peter's only superpower, just like in MCU. Marley's history will be revealed more in the story, or you can visit my wattpad on my profile.**

 **I will say this. Logically, Peter Parker was chosen to be Marley's bodyguard for the following reasons.**

 **1\. Gerard knows that Marley needs someone sassy to keep her in check, which is what Spiderman can be sometimes; this is also why Deadpool was Gerard's first choice. An idea shot down by Luke, Marley's older brother, since Deadpool is a perverted little stinker.**

 **2\. Marley has self-defense background. She does not need the most experienced bodyguard.**

 **3\. This is a major step in Spiderman's career, as he has never truly had to take care of anyone but himself. Peter is serious about proving himself not only to Gerard, Candor's defense commander, but most importantly, Tony Stark, who will also make an appearance in this story.**

 **Message me for further questions and enjoy this next chapter! :)**

Unfortunately, I woke up on the right side of the bed and decided to let Peter off easy.

I was actually surprised he was waiting for me by the door promptly at 8. When we got to the animal sanctuary, I showed Peter the dolphins and instructed him on the regimen to feeding them.

Steve had the afternoon shift taking care of the zoo, so without Peter's help, it would've just been me this morning. At least he could take one thing off my hands.

"Having fun yet?" I dropped the bucket of fish I was carrying next to Peter, making him jump. He had made himself at home with his jeans rolled up, all the dolphins enthralled at the new human, letting him pet their noses.

"I'll admit, they are pretty cool." He said, continuing to pet one dolphin.

Drawing his attention away from the dolphin, he turned to me, as I bent down to take a seat next to him, also sticking my feet over the tank's edge.

"How did you come to run this whole place?"

I chuckled. "An old friend of mine used to run it. He left it to me when he got banished from the campus.."

"Why was he banished?"

"Illegally selling gems.." I said solemnly.

Peter went quiet.

"He wasn't making enough money, and he had to pay for his father's heart transplant to help him live. In one way, it was admirable.. But I was probably biased. I mean, he showed me everything I know."

"Sometimes it's hard to tell which people are truly good."

"Hey! Hey, Marley Jane!" A voice interrupted our conversation.

"River!" I pulled my feet out of the tank an opened my arms to hug the approaching boy. "I can't believe I've been without you for so long. What has it been, like 24 hours?"

"At the least." River pulled me into his chest.

Believe it or not, I once had a rebellious stage. River was the one who pulled me out of it. People look up to you, Marley.. It's time to start having a little faith in yourself. I distinctly remember the words he spoke to me.

"Ahem." I heard someone cough behind us.

Oh. That's right. Peter.

"Oh, yeah. Peter, this is my good friend River. River McCollum, this is Peter Parker."

River's mouth gaped open. "No way, dude! Peter Parker!?"

I raised an eyebrow at River's fascination.

"I've seen like all the videos of you on the internet, dude!"

I chuckled. "Wait, what videos?" I look at Peter inquisitively.

"Oh my gosh, Mars, where have you been the past year? You've got some sick moves, dude. We have got to chill together sometime."

Peter chuckled shyly, not use to the attention, at least not since he's been here at Churchill.

"Why are you here anyways?" River asked Peter, still enthralled with the boy.

I tried to get River back to earth. "He's my bodyguard."

River laughed. "Bodyguard!? Since when do you have a bodyguard?"

"Since that idiot Gerard assigned him to me."

River groaned. "Gerard has a way of getting under my skin.."

"You're telling me." I crossed my arms uncomfortably.

"Well, if I do say so myself, I think you're plenty safe with Peter, Marley."

Of course he'd divert the attention back to Peter.

"Thanks for the assurance, but I'm quite sure I can handle myself. No offense, Peter, but I haven't had to have anyone watch me before."

River shrugged. "I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Speaking of which, it's better to be five minutes early to Mrs. Grinch's class than sorry." He checked his watch.

"There is no way her real name is Grinch." I chuckled.

"You obviously haven't met her then. I'll catch up with you later. See you, Mars." River gave me one last side hug.

Before I was able to interrogate Peter about his super powers, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered it, not even caring to look at the caller ID.

"Marley, it's your one and only love." I rolled my eyes at Gerard. "I've got good news. Meet me at the Greenhouse in 5."

Gerard hung up without even being able to respond.

"Well, duty calls, Parker. Gerard has summoned us."

Peter smirked at me.

I disregarded the kind look, turning on my heels and heading towards the Greenhouse, which was a tiny cafe that sat on the roof of Churchill's art building. Usually, my friends would have trouble keeping up with my fast pace, but not once did Peter lag behind me. But he also wasn't right up on me touching arms.

The bell to the front door of the Greenhouse chimed.

"Love! It's great to see you again. And Peter, how is it going?" Gerard was sitting at a table with just one small mug of coffee.

"Not too bad," Peter responded as we took our seats across from Gerard.

Gerard turned his attention towards me. "Good news. Remember your cute little job at the apothecary? You wore that adorable lab coat?"

I rolled my eyes. "What about it? I lost that job after the storm."

"Not anymore." Gerard swung a set of keys which I knew to be my old keys to the apothecary.

You see, I lost my job at the apothecary since during the storm when someone broke in and stole various gems— gems that held special powers, very valuable gems, gems that we spent hours mixing and creating. And since I was the only one in town with a key, and the security cameras were down, I was considered too high of a risk.

"I don't understand. Marvin told me that the board of gemstone manufacturing said they had no choice but to revoke my license."

"Well, leave it to your one and only to pull some strings. The board reconsidered once they heard you were being escorted twenty-four seven. You have an alibi."

While a great portion of my heart belonged in the animal sanctuary, I felt as if I were doing some good in the world by helping create these gems. Gems could either make or destroy a person, and the ones made here at Churchill definitely made a big difference in many peoples' lives.

"I don't know what to say, Gerard—"

"Just say thank you. That's all." He tossed me the keys.

Once I got the keys in my hand, reality hit.

"What's the catch?" I raised an eyebrow at Gerard.

He looked the other direction, shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't mess with me, Gerard. I know that with you there is always a give and take. So name your price."

Gerard leaned forward in his chair. "Well, there is one thing."

I scoffed, flashing Peter an 'I-told-you-so' look.

"There was this little incident where a team of my guys may have pulled a Robin Hood in a major city to the west. You know, steal from the rich, give to the poor. Well, congress wasn't having it. I'm not on the best terms with them. So, Miss Sheppard, you got an alibi, I need mine. Leave a word in with your father for me."

"Leave a word in? That's it?"

Gerard chuckled. "Your word counts more than you think."

"A word it is." I smiled.

Gerard grimaced. "A good word, that is."

Laughing, I said, "We'll see. Let's go, Parker." I rose out of my chair and headed towards the exit, Peter following closely behind.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, I immediately started my work at the apothecary again. I notified Steve, who agreed to pick up some more shifts at the animal sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Peter and I had come to an understanding.

"What Gerard doesn't know won't kill him." I spoke to Peter as we made our way to campus.

"As much as I want to respect Gerard, there are so many things on campus that I want to do." Peter was ecstatic about being on Churchill campus for the first time.

"Don't worry about me. Go do you, Peter. I think I can survive a day at the apothecary. We just have to make sure we know what we're going to do when Gerard checks up on us tomorrow."

Peter nodded his head.

"Catch you later." We parted ways, and I headed towards the back door to the apothecary.

Once I stepped inside, the smell of bubbling elixirs filled the entire apothecary.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Thompson, but I can't hand out the Purity of Darkness gem without a written note from your Alchemy professor."

I set my bag of supplies down next to Zofie, having a heated conversation with someone on the phone.

Zofie glanced over at me, mouth dropping open. "Yes, yes, Mr. Thompson, I understand. Hold on, one second." She set the phone down, not even caring to mute it.

Zofie squealed quietly, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I can't believe you're back!"

I hugged her tightly back. "I know! It was a real miracle, I'll tell you what."

"Yeah, tell me all about it in one second." Zofie picked the phone up, an angry voice yelling across the line. "Yeah, I completely understand. My supervisor's name is Sid. Yep. Have a good day." She slammed the phone down.

Smiling, she rested her head on one hand as she leaned onto the counter. "So tell me what magic powers got you back in here."

I chuckled, starting to take my mixing supplies out of my bag. "Actually, no magical powers at all. Apparently, my dad had bodyguards assigned to us so now I have an 'alibi', so they say."

Zofie laughed. "I can't believe they still believe you broke into the apothecary and stole gems."

I smiled, picking up my mixing wand and pestle, taking it over to my mixing station where a cauldron was already bubbling.

I breathed in the scent of burning coconut and lavender oil. The aroma brought countless memories of hours spent mixing and templating gems, as I was able to sort out my problems deep in thought without anyone being able to bother me.

Soon, I was back in the hang of it. Having made several Moon Charge and Hallowing of Sight gems, which I found were some of the hardest to make since they had an iridescent glow.

Before I knew it, I saw the sun setting outside the apothecary window. The after school rush was waiting outside Zofie's desk window, waiting to pick up their gems.

Once I helped her dispense a few gems, I packed up my supplies and got ready to head out.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you, Zof." I said, giving her a side hug, our heads touching.

"I'm just glad you're back, Marley Jane."

"I would stay longer, but I think my bodyguard might be tired of waiting all night for me."

"Oh, you'll have to tell me all about this bodyguard of yours." Zofie winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "There's not much to tell. Trust me."

"See you tomorrow, Mars." She said, a glint in her eyes.

Leaving the apothecary, I headed towards the campus entrance where I hoped to find Peter.

I honestly had no idea where he would be as we hadn't talked about a meet up location. I spent five minutes wandering aimlessly around the entrance before deciding to search the campus for the boy.

Walking towards the auditorium, I found the familiar mop of hair sitting at the Churchill fountain, head bent down examining something.

"Hey," I approached Peter, finally realizing what he was holding in his hands. "I didn't know you were into photography."

He shrugged. "There's still a lot you don't know." He went back to flipping through the pictures he had took, I was guessing, throughout the day.

I sat next to him, snooping over his shoulder.

One picture was of the sunset behind the sports' field here on campus. Another was a picture of students in an art class gracefully painting on their canvases. Another was of Sabrina in the Greenhouse, smiling and posing for the camera. The last one in his hand was a picture of my dolphins, heads poking out of the water as they appeared to be smiling.

"This is phenomenal." I slowly took the photo out of his hand. "Like, this is really good." I glanced over at Peter.

He smiled sheepishly, taking the photo back and started to tuck them away in his backpack.

"So what else don't I know about Peter Parker?" I asked, as we instinctively started heading back towards the coffee shop.

"I'm really not that complex, nor interesting."

"Complex or not, you have to have some hobbies. So I found out photography. What else? I know there has to be more."

Peter squinted his eyes as he looked up towards the sky. "I'm a superhero. That's my life."

"And is that what you want your life to be? You wouldn't want to change a thing?"

He shook his head. "I can't live my life like that. With regret. I don't think there is one second I truly regret. Every minute of every day, as long as I'm making a difference to someone, that's all I can really ask for."

"Spoken like a true superhero." I chuckled.

A few moments passed in silence before Peter spoke again.

"So what was it like being at the apothecary again? From what it sounded like, it's been a while, right?"

"It's been too long. I've missed it so much. As much as I love the animal sanctuary, nothing beats being able to have that alone time in silence to just think and mix gems. And our head alchemist, Zofie, she's an amazing person. You'd love her. She's quirky and energetic. Actually, a lot like you."

"I've always been somewhat fascinated with gems." Peter said as we finally arrived at the coffee shop.

"It can be intimidating working with them. Mix the wrong two together and you can have a big mess on your hands."

"A lot of math?" He asked.

"And science. Not my strongest fortes, but I get by."

"Two of my strongest subjects."

I smirked. "Maybe you can tutor me sometime then. I need all the help I can get."

"Done deal." He said, as we both headed up the stairs to our bedrooms.

I entered my room, shutting the door behind me and tossing my bag on the floor.

This day drained more out of me than I expected. Lying on my pillow, within seconds it felt as if I had passed out.

It felt like it had only been minutes, but when the creaking of my bedroom door woke me up, I noticed how pitch black it was outside.

"Marley?" I heard a voice peep through my door.

Fixing my bedhead, I sat up. "Yeah?"

Peter poked his head in, making sure I was alive. Or awake. Either or.

When he stepped into my room, he was wearing this red and blue suit, a spider emblem on the front.

"Spider man, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, um.." He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Would you mind if I…?" Peter pointed his finger towards the door.

"Like I said, Peter, do you. I'll be fine. If anything is going to kill me, it might be my extreme level of exhaustion right now."

"Sorry to wake you." He said apologetically, as he started to walk away.

"Good luck making a difference." I said, quoting his words from earlier in the evening.

Peter smirked, before quickly vanishing out of sight.


	5. Chapter 5

"Five minutes. We were supposed to leave for campus five minutes ago!" I stood by the coffee shop door, tapping my foot impatiently.

Right as I was deciding to go up there and bang on Peter's door, I heard footsteps trampling down the hall way.

Peter rounded the corner down the stairs, nearly falling down them as he was throwing a shirt on over his head.

Before pulling it down fully, I noticed black and blue marks lining his rib cage.

Tugging his backpack over his shoulder, he ran his fingers through his hair which really did look like a mop this morning, when it usually had been at least somewhat groomed.

"God, you look like you were hit by a bus." I said, heading out of the coffee shop.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Peter was finally struggling to keep up with me.

"So, I came up with what we tell Gerard— you dropped me off at the apothecary, patiently waited around the Alchemy building for me to finish my shift, then when I got off, you took me to the fountain so I could relax and wind down before trekking home. Got it? Then when we got home, I crashed, and you were a good body guard and stayed up until late hours of the night, drinking coffee, and making sure no evil forces were invading the coffee shop to steal my very soul."

"Don't you think that sounds a little too.."

"Cheesy? Yes. Unbelievable? No. Gerard's totally gullible."

Peter and I rounded the corner, getting ready to go our separate ways as we neared the Churchill fountain.

"Heads up!" I heard a voice yell.

Before I had time to respond, a football was flying towards my face.

As I stood dumbly in shock at the pain I was about to experience, the football's path was diverted.

"Watch what you're doing!" Peter yelled towards the sports field where the ball came flying from.

I don't know how but in milliseconds Peter had managed to catch the ball just in the knick of time.

I smirked. "Mention this to Gerard. He'll love to know all about the dangers you're saving me from."

"I highly doubt a rogue football counts as eminent danger." Peter scoffed.

That was our last interaction before meeting Gerard later that day.

As we paced towards the office we agreed to meet Gerard at, I gave Peter the rundown of what we were going to tell Gerard what we did today. Leaving out all the details about how we were separated for a mere seven hours.

I brushed my fingers through my hair, trying to look as presentable as possible, while Peter did the same, barely showing any sign of injury that was written so obviously all over his face this morning.

"Marley, Peter! I wish I could say I'm glad to see you, but then I'd be lying. Please have a seat."

Peter and I shared a nervous glance before taking a seat across from Gerard.

"So, how's it going?" Gerard asked, eyeing us curiously.

"It's going good—" I started.

"Wrong answer! Do you want to tell me what you were doing around 10 o'clock last night, Miss Marley?"

"Sleeping." I said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"And that's where the problem lies. How am I supposed you two to do your duty if you can't follow through with your word?"

I slinked back in my chair.

Gerard hit a button, and a video started playing on the projector screen that was in front of us. The screen showed a figure in a red and blue seat walking around Churchill campus in the dead of the night. A red and blue suit alot like the one I had seen Peter in last night.

"I don't suppose you went crime fighting with Peter, right, Sheppard?"

"Look, it's not fair to either of us that we cannot go barely anywhere without the other. It's absurd!"

"Okay, Princess, but you know what's not absurd is sending you back to Ashington Estate."

I cringed at the thought. I spent sixteen years at Ashington Estate before my father decided to let me come to Churchill. I prayed I was never forced to stay there ever again. Despite it being gorgeous, it was a lonely place.

I wanted to yell at Gerard at the top of my lungs. He knows good and well I can take care of myself, and he knows that Peter is capable of more than just guarding one girl. There were better things we both could be doing.

But instead, I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

I ran down the auditorium steps, across the courtyard, and toward the sports field. I kicked my legs over the rickety wooden fence that blocked off the sports field, and I sat there. Huffing and puffing. Letting every annoying thought get to me, causing me to scoff some more to myself.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I heard my brother yell from behind me.

I flipped my legs over the other side of the fence to face him. "I'm guessing you heard."

"Do you want to get set back to Ashington!?" Luke's voice was flooded with anger, as if he were a volcano finally exploding.

"No! But I might as well be if I can't live a normal life here!"

Luke scoffed. "Now, I know you don't mean that. Are you not doing everything you've ever wanted to do here? Just because you have to have someone following you around does not inhibit you from doing the things you want to do."

I rolled my eyes, trying to fight the fact that he was right.

"If anything, look at it from Peter's point of view. Do you honestly think he wants to be stuck here guarding you? He's a superhero for God's sake! And he just got possibly one of the most boring jobs in superhero history."

A few moments of silence passed, Luke's fury slowly burning down.

"Are you calling me boring?"

Luke shook his head. "All I know is that I've been your brother for twenty years. Peter's been your body guard for like twenty hours. I'm sure it's not on the top of his favorite things to do."

"One thing I learned from dad," he continued, "is that it's not about me or you. These avengers, these superheroes aren't here to solely protect us. They're here to protect everyone surrounding us even more so. No matter where Dad is, everyone loves having him around. And not because it was their job, but because he wants the best for people. Now, I'm not saying you have to give up everything to make sure your bodyguard's loving life, but at least go easy on him. As much as you don't want to be going through with this, he doesn't either. But this is what he has to do."

"Okay, okay," I waved him to stop. "Can this guilt trip please be over?"

"Not until I hear you say, 'I will not make Peter Parker's life a living hell.'"

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I will try not to make Peter Parker's life a living hell."

"Close enough," he shrugged, patting me on the back as I started towards the auditorium once again.

I hated that feeling of confrontation when you have to face whatever you were just running away from. And yet here I was.

I opened the door to the office that I expected Gerard and Peter to still be seated in.

"Welcome back," Gerard said.

Gerard and Peter were sitting around the conference table still, but now they were joined with one other person.

"Marley Sheppard," I stuck out my hand to the man seated next to Gerard.

"Tony Stark," He took my hand firmly. "Now, Peter, can you tell me why you don't want this job? I wouldn't turn down an offer to be around a gorgeous girl twenty-four seven."

Grumbling, I said, "Please, I'm sick of flattery."

"No, now was your chance to say, 'Oh, Peter, you have such an amazing boss! Why do you complain about your job so much?"

"Actually, I don't think I've heard Peter complain since he's been here. That's mostly been my job."

"Well, good, because I'd hate to bring him home. Being here keeps his nose out of all the chaos going on back home."

"Mr. Stark, I hope you realize that I'm not easy to deal with. I think that should prove something to you about Peter."

"I second that!" Gerard interjected.

I furrowed my eyebrows at Gerard.

"Hey, weren't you two dating at one time?" Tony asked me and Gerard.

"No—"

"Yes!" Gerard said, way too enthusiastically.

"So, it's complicated?" Tony said.

"That's one way to put it.." I mumbled.

"I see.. Well, you two are dismissed. I just need some words with Mr. Bentley here about the happenings in America."

I nodded, waiting for Peter to head out with me.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark, you have no idea what this—"

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here before I change my mind." He stopped Peter.

I held the door open for Peter as he lagged behind me.

"Let's go, Spiderling." I said, flashing one last smirk at Tony and Gerard.


	6. Chapter 6

This was the first time Peter and I were able to walk home in silence. I know that I was so far in my own head that I was surprised when we made it home to the coffee shop. It felt like we made it there in seconds.

Peter held the door open as I entered the brightly lit coffee shop.

"Marley!" My best friend Rowan got off the couch where she was sitting with Sabrina drinking coffee.

It's a funny story actually. Rowan and I were originally enemies, but when the rumors started spreading that we were actually enemies, we decided to join forces and become friends. Now nothing could tear us apart. Don't get me wrong, Rowan is a little too feminist, a little opinionated, and a little too naive, but I would kick anyone else if they said that about her. Even when I didn't agree, I tried to support Rowan with whatever she set her mind to. Even if one of her good friends was Sabrina.

I threw my arms around Rowan as we bear hugged each other.

"Oh, Rowan, this is Peter. Peter, this is one of my best friends, Rowan."

"Oh! So you're the Peter that Sabrina has been talking about non stop?" Rowan said, naturally tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah?" Peter chuckled.

"Come sit!" Sabrina yelled to Peter and patted the couch next to her. Within seconds, they were deep in conversation.

"God, you look awful. Why do you look like someone just killed one of your animals?"

I bounced back to reality at her question. "It's kind of a long story.." I headed towards the coffee bar, Rowan sitting by me.

Rowan crossed her arms, waiting for me to go on.

"I don't know how much Sabrina has told you about Peter.." I started.

"Oh, just his hair. And his eyes. And his smile—" She rolled her eyes.

I waved at her to stop. "Peter.." I lowered my voice. "He's my bodyguard."

"Oh my God!" She squealed quietly. "I knew you weren't just running after a new guy!"

"Thanks for knowing me so well," I chuckled.

"Are you going to tell Sabrina?"

I sighed. "I kind of wanted it to be on the down low. Admitting that I have to have a bodyguard comes with acknowledging the fact that I'm not in the safest situation right now. And I don't want to be seen as vulnerable."

Rowan nodded her head in understanding. "I just know that Sabrina has been highly jealous of you."

I rolled my eyes. "Is it just me or if anytime I have something that Sabrina doesn't have, she just has to have it?"

"I never really noticed it before. It might be in your head, but, let me tell you, her googly-eyes all over your bodyguard is definitely not just in your head."

"You don't say," I glanced over my shoulder to see Sabrina smacking Peter's shoulder playfully.

Rowan motioned for me to follow her as she sauntered over to the area where the two were lounging.

I took a seat against the arm of the couch near Peter, opposite of where Sabrina was.

"So, I was having this party tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Sabrina was asking Peter.

I telepathically shot Rowan a cringe-worthy look.

"Oh.. I—I.." Peter looked at me with a questioning look in his eyes.

I honestly didn't know what to say. Peter and I were on major probation. Any time separated and we could both lose our jobs and our lives.

Sabrina noticed our expressions. "Oh, I mean.. Marley can come too.. I just, didn't think you'd want to, Mars."

My mouth opened and closed like a fish for a few moments, trying to find out words to express my dissatisfaction. "I will.." I said too apprehensive..

Sabrina looked confused.

I looked Peter in the eyes and remembered what Luke said earlier. I will not make Peter Park's life a living hell. "I'd love to." I said with a smile finally.

"Well, then, we must go get ready. Come on, Rowan! We've got a lot to do." Sabrina got up from the couch, missing the apologetic look Rowan gave me.

"Catch you later," Peter said, waving goodbye to her.

The bell to the coffee shop rang as they exited.

I took a deep breath, avoiding Peter's gaze.

"You don't have to go. I'm fine with staying home—"

"We are going. Sabrina's expecting us. Or, expecting you at least. I'm not about to hold you back from this."

Peter licked his lips, seeming as if he was trying to figure out how to respond.

"Let me know when you're ready to go." I said, jogging up the stairs to my bedroom.

Oh, how much mentally preparing I'd have to do to get in the party mood. Especially a Sabrina party.


	7. Chapter 7

This was my first actual party. Of course, we always had dinner parties at Ashington over the holidays. Those were always fun, spending the late hours running around the castle, playing games and pranks. That was what I considered fun. Not the loud banging music, barely being able to hear a word a person standing next to you was saying. And the pranks were turned into peer pressure far too quick.

I knew this was not the kind of party I wanted to be at, but I did it anyways.

"Mars?" I heard someone yell to me.

I was avoiding most people, hiding away in the kitchen around the snacks. If I was going to be at a party, I might as well enjoy it stuffing my face.

"Corey, hey." I smiled at the boy. It had been awhile since I talked to Corey. The last time I remember talking to him was when we were defining our relationship, which had naturally taken its place on the back burner as he figured out what he was doing with his life.

"Surprised to see you here."

"I'd be surprised to see me here too!" I chuckled, trying to raise my voice over the music.

Corey ran a hand through his hair. "I hope you're not doing this to impress anyone. That's not the Marley I know."

I sighed. "It's so complicated right now." I couldn't exactly tell Corey all that was going on. I knew Corey. He'd be too worried. Plus, I didn't want him to get too involved when he had to deal with environmental team that was trying to figure out the source of the historic storm.

"Don't change, Mars." Corey said.

"Don't worry, Corey. I'm still Marley Sheppard, a KK. I'm just.. Marley Sheppard, the KK trying some new things.."

He looked at me skeptically before turning towards the rest of the party.

I groaned to myself. I was not having this party. And especially when midnight rolled around.

I could have been in bed. Instead I was listening to this:

"Okay! Time for seven minutes in heaven!" Sabrina yelled, quieting the group of Churchill students. Most of them I didn't know, some I knew from small roles I had when I was part of the theater team.

"Let's see who spins first!?"

I knew who she was looking for as her eyes scanned the room. And as I looked around, I was searching for the same person.

Then I remembered that it must have been an hour since I had seen Peter. I was so caught up in avoiding Sabrina and him together that I lost him altogether.

Without thinking twice, my heart started pounding. Where was Peter Parker?

I scrambled to the kitchen. No sign of the boy.

Made sure the bathrooms were clear.

He wouldn't just leave me like this, would he?

My breath hitched as I struggled to the door, throwing the gray hood from my jacket over my head.

I darted out the door, trying to peer into the darkness that consumed the rest of the street.

"Looking for something?"

A voice broke through the darkness, and I felt as if I had jumped ten feet in the air.

I looked behind me to find Peter sitting on Sabrina's roof.

"How in the world did you get up there?" I tried to yell quietly.

He shot me a look that said 'did you really just ask that?'.

"Sorry, dumb question." I pulled my jacket closer to me.

"So.." I went on. "Are you coming down or do I have to find a way to join you?"

Peter stood up and swiftly flipped off the roof, landing firmly on his feet.

"Maybe you can help me brush up on my moves." I chuckled. When I first came to Churchill, I was highly involved in the athletics department. Over time, I slowly moved to the theatre department, and now into the animal sanctuary and apothecary. Let's say, it's been a few years since I landed even a small flip.

Peter started walking away from Sabrina's house. This time I was the one lagging behind him.

We were halfway to the coffee shop when curiosity got the best of me.

"So, you weren't feeling it? The party I mean.."

He shrugged, staying silent.

I let out a breath. I guess I wasn't going to get anything out of him, and it wasn't my place to pry.

As the coffee shop came into view, Peter turned to me. "Did you tell Sabrina?"

"Sorry, I'm not following. Tell Sabrina what?"

"That I'm Spiderman."

"I haven't said one word to her all night. And that's the last thing that I would bring up. She's all over you enough as it is."

Peter lost the glisten in his eyes as he watched the ground beneath him.

"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked.

"She just.. She kept asking me about it."

"Peter, as much as I despise her, I bet she was just curious."

"Okay, but, she was talking like it mattered."

"It kind of does, not many people are superheroes."

"Yes, but I don't have to be a superhero because of some lucky powers I got."

I hadn't noticed, but by this time we were a few decibels under yelling.

Peter sighed. "Mr. Stark told me that if I'm nothing without the suit, then I shouldn't have it. And since then, it became less about me. More about.." He motioned to everything around him.

"The little guy?" I quirked an eyebrow.

Peter nodded in response, gulping a breath in.

Before we entered the coffee shop, I turned to Peter. "I'm not going to tell you that Sabrina really does care about who you are as a person, but I will say that she's an idiot if she doesn't notice Peter Parker beneath the Spiderman. I've only spent a few days with him, and he's pretty cool."

I smiled at Peter before heading into the coffee shop.

"Cool person, awful bodyguard." I said over my shoulder, laughing.

I heard Peter chuckle behind me.

"Eight o'clock?" Peter asked as I headed up to my bedroom.

I nodded my head. "Have a nice night."

Peter took a seat at the coffee bar as I went up to my room.

I could tell he had a lot on his mind, since he wasn't going to his bedroom. I was kind of upset that it didn't seem like he took my words to heart, but then I couldn't quite understand what he was going through. People had always known I was the KK, it wasn't in question. And it wasn't a cool super power. It was just who I was.

While Peter was learning to adapt to this new lifestyle, I think Peter's main hold up was coming to terms with how he wanted to be viewed by the public. By friends and peers. And I completely understood that conflict.


	8. Chapter 8

If I had to guess, I would say that Peter spent all night over thinking what went on. At least, I know that that's usually what the case is when I'm found sleeping on the couch in the same clothes I was wearing the night before.

"Peter.." I whispered.

He didn't budge, making me second guess if I really should wake him yet or not. It was already ten o'clock, but it was a Saturday, and I, for one, had no life on a Saturday.

"Peter," I shook him slightly.

He flipped over, groaning. His usual groomed hair was pasted to his forehead.

"I don't know if you like coffee, but I made you some anyways.."

"What time is it?"

He mumbled, his voice even more hoarse than usual.

I told him the time, surprised that he was able to stay asleep when the coffee shop was starting to buzz with more and more guests. It was quieter than usual for a Saturday morning.

I enjoyed the quiet though. It gave me a chance to catch up on all the things I've ignored.

Swinging the window open, the breeze and sunlight filled my bedroom.

Pulling my notebook out of my backpack, I spread tons of papers across my floor.

"Ursine and Dracone, mixed in Emerald Aura, should equal orange djullynite.. Side effects might be invisible rash, astral delirium, and nausea. But the indications are painful wounds and anxiety.. That might work."

I continued flipping through a book of potion mixes, some that have barely been used lately since they are out-dated.

"Forbidden Spark Gem.. Used to heighten emotion and physical senses.. Symptoms are hyper-empathy and mountain hallucinations.. Wish I had known about this earlier.."

In the middle of my research, I heard a knock on my door.

"Hey," It was Peter, looking much more refreshed than when he had first woken up.

"What's up?" I stuck my pencil behind my ear.

"I was just.. What is all this?" Peter looked down at all the papers scatter across the floor.

I smirked. "They're just some potions and equations I was working on to make into gems."

Peter sat across from me on my floor, criss-crossed as I was.

"How does it work exactly?" He snatched up one of my papers.

"Well, once you get the right ingredients, you get the right proportions. Then you have to calculate the recipe to mix them, like what goes in the cauldron first. Then we put the mix in templates and they form hard over night. Then we dispense them."

"And then people get them inserted into their skin?"

"Only in extreme cases. A lot of them can be worn as jewelry. It's not as potent of an effect, but definitely less side effects. Not as dangerous. Illegally though, people crush the gems and inhale them. Possibly the worst thing you can do to your body.."

"This is some genius work.. I mean, I'm good at chemistry, but this stuff.." He examined each paper.

"You get used to it once you're around it for so long. I guess you could say this is my chemistry."

He nodded his head before placing the papers back down in their original places. "So, I was kind of wanting to go on campus today."

"Any particular reason?" I busied myself, tidying up my calculations again.

"I found some really neat places I'd like to photograph. If that's all right with you, that is?"

I inwardly groaned. I was kind of hoping to stay home all day.. _I will not make Peter Parker's life a living hell_. "Sounds good."

Within minutes, Peter and I were walking down Main Street plaza. We both looked like real tourists. I was dressed for the summer heat, in white shorts, red hair pulled back, and sunglasses. Peter, on the other hand, was a typical boy and didn't think that he'd get hot in jeans and tennis shoes, his camera dangling against his navy-blue t-shirt, and hat shielding his eyes.

Shops lined the brick road, golf carts flying past us. Peter made sure to capture every picture perfect moment. Above the shops were terraces with flowers pouring over the railings. Any street musician standing off to the side, Peter would take their picture as I would leave a few cents.

"Marley, go stand on those doorsteps."

"Peter, that's someone house."

"I don't care, it'll look cool!"

I rolled my eyes, not expecting this bossy side of Peter. But I obliged anyways.

Sooner than later, we made it back to the center of campus— Churchill's courtyard fountain. Even on this off day, students were lounging about studying and hanging out.

Peter went to take a seat on the fountain's edge as I followed his lead.

His head was bent down, examining all the pictures he already got.

"How did you enjoy last night?" Peter asked, eyes still peeled to his camera.

"Decent. As far as house parties go, it was my first, and it could have been worse."

"You're twenty, and you've never been to a house party?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I try to keep a respectable image." I said sarcastically. "But yes, first house party, and I was not all that impressed."

"This one time," He finally set his camera down next to him. "I went to this party to impress this girl I knew. Somehow the rumor got out that I knew Spiderman, and they thought it would be cool if I 'asked him' to show up."

"They didn't know you were Spiderman?" I chuckled.

"Surprising enough, I kept the secret for awhile."

"Impressive, I'm impressed. So, what happened?"

"I kept it."

"Kept what?"

"The secret. I kept it and left."

"Wow, that's actually.." I tried searching for the word. "Very mature of you, Peter Parker. Not using your powers selfishly. I think that says something."

"I ended up taking her to homecoming, and her dad ended up being one of my arch rivals."

"What a bummer!" A busted out laughing. "It's okay. First loves were never meant to work out anyway."

"I guess not for either of us."

My mind went back to my first boyfriends. Elijah I didn't really love.. It was mostly for the publicity. Then there were rumors about Jia and I when I went to Millcreek when Jia was banished from Churchill.

Millcreek was Churchill's arch rival. A lot of the kids hated my family, because that was what they were raised to do. I didn't quite understand it, all I know is that Jia, who taught me everything I know about the zoo, was banished from Churchill to Millcreek. I spent a year at Millcreek, upset about the decision, until deciding that it was best for me to come back to Churchill.

As Peter and I spoke, I saw Peter's eyes follow something behind me.

"What are you looking at?"

As I was turning to see what he was watching, he grabbed my hand and mumbled, "Do not turn around."

It took all the nerves in me to not turn around.

"Head the farthest away that you can without leaving the courtyard." Peter handed me his camera and the baseball hat that was wearing.

I nodded slightly, before standing up and throwing on the hat and his camera. I sauntered over to the wooden fence that rimmed the courtyard, taking a seat and trying not to act suspicious. I scanned through pictures that Peter took, looking up every so often to see if anything was happening yet.

All I saw was that Peter was not where I left him. A few moments later, yelling drew my attention to the fountain.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" I watched as Spiderman flung towards a man in a black trenchcoat that had not been there before.

The man flipped backwards from the impact, before getting to his feet again seeming merely unharmed. "Kid, is that all you got!?" The man had a hood over his face so you couldn't see him, waving what seemed to be a wand in the air, causing electricity to shoot.

Peter, who was also decked out in mask and suit, nearly missed all the shots.

I literally had no idea how he did it so fast. I guess that was a superhero skill in itself.

"Whoa! You got an electric wand!? That's some new age technology!" He

When Spiderman got close enough, the man lunged at him, smashing his fist into Spiderman's jaw.

Spiderman threw a web down at his foot, disabling him from moving, before disarming his wand with another web.

Most of the courtyard's occupants had cleared the area, running in fear and shouting. Many were standing in the same area I was in.

Everyone except one man on the bench. His hands in his pocket.

The trenchcoat man flung his hand in the air, having some telepathic abilities to make Peter go flying through the air, hitting the wall a few yards away from me.

"Okay, yeah. That was a good one. You got me there." Sarcasm dripped in Spiderman's words.

Spiderman climbed up the closest wall as fast as possible, dodging more attacks from his opponent, before flipping off the third floor and coming close enough to fight hand-to-hand with the man.

But as the trenchcoat man finally untangled his foot out of Spiderman's webbing, he disappeared in thin air, giving one last wave in the air.

"What the.."

I guess the wave was a signal, because as soon as the man disappeared, the suspicious person sitting on the bench threw an object in the air before vanishing the same way.

My eyes were trying to adjust to figure out what they threw, but as I saw it blinking, I realized what it was.

Forgetting all about logic, I ran towards the blinking ball.

"That's a strange little.. Sheppard, stop!"

Those were the last words I heard before feeling intense pain and having ringing in my ears. I wasn't on my feet either. I was lying on my side. On my arm. I think it was my arm. But it didn't feel like my arm. But then, again nothing felt normal in this moment.

I couldn't move as I felt myself being lifted up from the ground. Any movement making me wince in pain. The ringing in my ears never went away, and it was the last noise I remember before my vision blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9

"..some minor cuts and bruises. Broken ankle. Nothing that she won't recover from."

I tried to open my eyes, blinking to correct my blurry vision.

"Hey, Mars." I felt a hand on my shin.

Wincing in pain, I tried pushing myself up in the pure white bed. It wasn't until I pushed with my feet that I realized my whole foot was in a cast.

"Whoa, take it easy." Luke moved his hand from shin, to shift a pillow behind my back.

As I sat up, I felt my head start pounding.

"What happened?" I put my head in my hands.

"You may or may not have jumped in front of a bomb."

I groaned. "What is bad?"

"Does it feel bad? I mean, it could've been worse."

"Actually," Tasha, my doctor who saw me in here way too much, started, "The outcome would've been worse if it hadn't been the force field protecting you."

"Force field!?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah. Based off of my observations, if the bomb had truly exploded, you probably wouldn't be able to move right now. That, and only your ankle is broken. Which all leads me to believe that you somehow absorbed the impact of the bomb—"

"And passed out from the impact of the gem still in your system." Luke interrupted her.

"How did the gem knock me out? I haven't used a gem in years."

Tasha went on explaining the situation. "You know how, since you cut the gem off your finger, we came to the conclusion that you would lose feeling sometimes when certain remnants of the gem would act up in your system? I guess the gem still has some effect in your blood stream. An effect that you may have to live with for the rest of your life."

I took a deep breath. "So I may lose feelings every now and then for the rest of my life?"

"On the bright side, you have some pretty neat tricks up your sleeve. Absorbing the blast from the bomb saved a lot of people, Marley. They owe you one. This boy owes you one too." Tasha glanced behind her to a Peter who looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

I smirked at Peter as his eyes scanned over my situation.

Standing up, he walked over to my side. "I'm sorry all this happened, Marley."

"We did what we had to do." I smiled.

"Luke, can I have a word with you?" Tasha asked before heading out of the room with my brother. The two were in dire need of a 'define the relationship' meeting. For the past few years they've had unspoken feelings for each other. Maybe they would finally get that all out of the way.

"All this aside," I said, "you were a pretty awesome Spiderman."

"Did you see that guy's stick!?" Peter spoke, bringing back the outspoken, innocent side of him.

I laughed. "Stick!? It was a wand. An electricity yielding wand."

"It was crazy! Then I didn't know what to think about that bomb.. I totally hammered that guy when I did that backflip off the building though—"

"That was a pretty cool move."

"And then he disappeared into thin air! That was the craziest part. I had never seen anything like that in my life!"

"It was crazy." I laughed at Peter's fascination with the whole scene.

He finally took a deep breath. "It would have been a pretty cool fight if your sorry butt hadn't gotten in the way."

I chuckled. "Sorry, I was risking my life to save people. Next time I'll stay out of the way."

"I'm supposed to be the one saving people, not you."

"Please, you can be my sidekick." I laughed.

"We can be Spiderman and Gemwoman."

"That's the least heroic name I've ever heard in my life."

"What would you rather be called?"

"Anything but that."

We both spent the next few minutes laughing together, until we heard voices outside the door. We quieted down, waiting for someone to enter.

"Peter.." I whispered.

He turned to me, concern written all over his face.

"Where's your camera?" I asked.

"Your ankle is broken and all you care about is where my camera is? Sorry, Marley, but I don't think now's the best time to be taking pictures."

"No! Peter, listen. That's not it!" I lowered my voice again. "I think I got a picture of the guy's face that was wearing the trenchcoat.."

"You were taking pictures!?" Peter almost shouted.

"Sshhhh.. I saw an opportunity and I took it. Do you have the camera?"

"It's back at the—"

"Irresponsible!" Gerard burst into the room, making Peter and I pull away from each other. "Hope you feel better, Marley." He gave me a kind smile before turning back to Peter. "Irresponsible! Tell me what you were thinking, picking fights when you're supposed to be preventing them!" Gerard ran a finger through his hair. "Tony said this might happen.."

"Said what might happen!?" Peter stood up from sitting on the hospital bed next to me. I had never heard him sound so passionate before. "What was I supposed to do?"

Gerard looked taken aback at Peter's sudden outburst.

"How am I supposed to protect Marley if I can't even protect the people who are even more defenseless?"

Gerard stared furiously at Peter.

"I can bodyguard all day and make sure nothing bad happens to one person," Peter motioned to me in the bed behind him. "But if something happens to another, and I was around to stop it, but I didn't, that would be on me. And I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen."

I glanced down at my fiddling hands, proud that somebody was finally able to befuddle Gerard. And even more surprised that that person was Peter Parker.

Gerard bounced his eyes from Peter to me then back to Peter.

"Take it up with Tony." That was all Gerard could mutter about the issue.

"As for you," Gerard diverted his attention away from Peter and onto me. "What were you thinking? Hurdling towards a bomb!?"

"I knew I could stop it, Gerard. There was something in me that just knew I had that ability."

"Well, not everyone knows that. In fact, now there's rumors starting."

"Rumors?" I raised my eyebrows.

Gerard pulled the front covers of several newspapers out of his back pocket, tossing them onto my lap.

 **Marley Saves World-Renowned Spiderman**

 **Who needs the saving now?**

 **M. Sheppard Blackouts During Heroic Battle**

 **KK Marley Sheppard Suffers from Chronic Gem Fatigue**

 **Marley Sheppard Hospitalized for Gem Abuse**

 **Marley Sheppard Rescues Secret Lover Spiderman**

I looked up to find that Luke had made his way back into the room. "This is crazy! None of this is right!"

"The people are worried about you, Mars. Which is why we need to go on record and set it straight." Luke said.

"Good plan, seeing as I already have an interview set up for tomorrow afternoon." Stated Gerard.

I groaned. "Luke, you can speak for me, right?"

"Sorry, Princess," Gerard said. "Your people are expecting you. Get some rest."

I threw myself back onto the bed in frustration. "Can't I get worker's comp for this!?"


	10. Chapter 10

"Up next, what happened with Marley Sheppard? Why was she present during the fight that broke out last night at the courtyard on campus? And does it have something to do with American superhero Spiderman being at the scene? All that's coming up in just a few. Stay tuned."

I crossed my arms. I never liked having anything to do with the studio. They were all a bunch of gossips who were in the business just to get views. But, seated between Gerard and Luke, there was no way out of it.

"You're up." Gerard whispered to me, patting me on the back.

I took a seat on the stage next to the two hosts— one I knew as Miranda, the other was a more feminine guy who I had never met before.

"Do you want a list of questions we're going to talk about?" Miranda said, a little too conspiring.

"No thanks," I smiled. "I like to be authentic, not scripted."

She took that personally, looking away and muttering something to her co-host.

 **On the air.**

The light came on as I crossed my legs and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible even in this awkward situation.

"And we're back with the beautiful Marley Sheppard!" Miranda put on the fakest tone of voice I had ever heard. "How are you doing, Marley?"

"Could be better." I chuckled. "Still getting use to this cast.."

"At least you only need a cast on your ankle! Watching the video, it looked pretty rough.."

"There's a video!? Oh no.." I covered my face. "That's embarassing."

"Well, we were all wondering what happened to you! Watch the video, here." The guy clicked a button and I saw the scene on a screen behind us.

Turning to watch, I saw Peter's last move, flipping from the wall before fist fighting the trenchcoat guy who disappeared to thin air. Even on video it wasn't believable. I could see Peter's muscles tense as the bomb flew into the air. I started running towards it, red hair trailing behind me like flames.

All you could see was a bright flash. Whoever was taping started running, the screen focusing on pavement underneath. A few seconds later, the video steadied again, in the lens was my limp body being hoisted up by Spiderman.

"So, tell us, what happened, Marley." Miranda leaned forward, waiting to hear the story.

"Honestly, I don't remember anything more than the video already showed."

"It was a bomb, but it didn't seem to explode. In fact, people have said that there was no impact from it."

I could've sworn I felt an impact from the bomb, but then I remembered what Tasha had said about my force field absorbing the impact. Which could've very well been why I passed out.

"So, then, one of the first things we want to know is, why did you pass out?"

I gathered my thoughts. "I can't completely say why I passed out, except that there may have been a force surrounding me that took the impact from the bomb. That is a theory though, and it is all still up in the air. Like I said, I don't know much more than—"

"What about Spiderman? This is the first time we've seen you with the American superhero. It's not merely a coincidence that you two happened to be in the area at the same time. Is there a secret relationship we don't know about?"

Frustrated with Miranda's antics, I sat up taller. Instead of trying to cover up more secrets like she expected, I decided to come clean with the full truth. "We were trying to keep the state of emergency under wraps, but, to put any rumors to rest, Spiderman has been doubling as a body guard for myself. All of the KKs have been assigned bodyguards actually. We do not want the public to be frightened though, as these are just precautionary measures."

Miranda sat back, defeated.

"Thank you for the clarification, Marley. Despite the state of emergency, I think the public is a little disappointed that there's not a new lover in your life."

I busted out laughing with the interviewer. "Maybe when the timing is more appropriate."

"Well, thanks for coming on the show, Marley. It was a pleasure having you." Miranda cut the interview short to my satisfaction.

"Thank you," I said before the on-air light went out.

We let few moments of silence pass to make sure we were off the air.

The guy host, whose name I still didn't know, turned to me. "Would you mind if I get an autograph? My niece is a big fan."

"Josh, don't you think that's a little inappropriate?" Miranda cut him off.

The guy slinked back in his seat.

Ignoring Miranda, I grabbed a sheet of paper and signed it for him, spitefully with a smirk on my face.

"Marley?" Luke asked, motioning for me to join him.

I gracefully walked off the stage, leaving Miranda behind me, and vowing to myself never to be pressured into an interview like this again.

I spent the whole ride home loathing the circumstances.

"Can you believe her? It was like she was trying to get me to admit that I'm a player and have some sickly disease I contracted from a guy." I went off to my brother, who stopped responding half an hour ago. He was just letting me vent.

"What happened?" Peter asked as we walked into the coffee shop. He was at the coffee bar stuffing his face with crackers.

I hobbled over to the stool next to him at the bar. "This interviewer was a jerk. Asking me tons of accusing questions, like, 'why are you with Spiderman?', 'did you pass out from an infectious disease?', 'how aware are you that the world despises you?'"

"Okay, so she didn't ask that last one." Luke interrupted.

"She may as well have." I snatched one of Peter's crackers. "How was your night off?" I asked Peter with my mouth full. Gerard had decided that Peter could have a break from bodyguard duty since I'd be escorted by not only Luke but also Gerard himself.

Peter shrugged. "Productive. Slept for an hour. Caught up on my favorite TV show—"

"Did you have a life even back in America or were you this boring all the time?"

Peter threw a cracker at me.

I laughed, catching and popping it into my mouth.

"I'm going to sleep. Close up shop for me?" Luke asked, before jogging up the stairs.

Once he was out of ear reach, Peter turned to me. "Where is his bodyguard all the time?"

"Who knows. I thought they decided on Black Widow, but I never see her around. I think it got changed to someone else.. Antman or something?"

"Explains why we never see him." Peter said, obviously knowing that an Antman did really exist. Who knew?

It didn't take too long to close up the shop. I cleaned the counter tops and the various tables throughout the patio and seating area. Shut off the "open" sign. Locked the front door. Nearing the coffee bar again, I found Peter cleaning the dishes left over from the night.

"You don't have to do that. I got it." I walked behind the bar, reaching for the dish scrubber.

"I can't help?" He asked, the dish spray nozzle still in his hand.

"You can, but I can do it on my own. I don't need a guy's help." I went to snatch the nozzle out of his hand. Somewhere in between my hand and mid-air, the hose snatched the nozzle back, making it twist towards Peter and I spraying at full blast.

I shrieked, using my bare hands to keep the water from drenching me.

Peter reached forward, shutting the water off.

I groaned.

"What was that about not needing a guy's help?"

I glared at the boy as he strutted off, taking a seat at the coffee bar once again. He dried his face and arms off with a kitchen rag.

I decided against cleaning the dishes by hand and just stuffed them all into the dishwasher.

"I found something you might find interesting.." Peter said, flipping around the camera in his hands to face me.

I leaned closer to the camera's digital screen.

"I flipped through all the pictures you took. Some awesome action shots, by the way. But, I doctored this one to highlight the dark parts of the photo. I know you can't see his face too well.. I figured it's something though."

"It is something.." I took the camera out of his hands. "I know this guy's face from somewhere.." The hood covered the man's pale face. From what you could tell, he had a scowl on his face with a goatee that would put even Tony Stark to shame.

"Well.. Maybe it'll come to you?" Peter said, optimistically.

"I don't remember." I put my head in my hands, frustrated.

Peter took his camera back. "The good news is, tomorrow's another day. Maybe a good night sleep will help it come back to you."

Peter shot me a small smile, which I reciprocated before starting my trek up the stairs to the bedrooms.

"Do you need help?" Peter asked, watching my struggle as I lent onto the railing with each step.

"I got it! I got it." I waved my hand at him.

He was standing in my way within seconds. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

I crossed my arms.

"Easy way, you let me help you up the stairs. Hard way is, I'll carry you anyways."

He caught me rolling my eyes at him as he went on. "I couldn't stand to let anyone do this alone. Why do you take it so personally?"

I obliged, wrapping an arm around his neck as his arm around my waist helped stabilize me.

"I, do not, take it, personally." I said in between hops up the stairs.

"Never accepting my help? Pushing me away at the first sign of defenselessness? Sounds personal to me."

We made it to the top of the stairs as we unlatched from each other.

As I made it to my bedroom door, I sighed. "Do you know why I got into gem production?"

He shook his head.

"Because people told me I couldn't. I remember the day I woke up and saw the news article, 'KK Rejected into Potion Formulating due to Intellectual Incompetency'. They thought I was too dumb."

"You proved them wrong."

I smirked.

"If it means anything, you're one of smartest people I've ever met. And standing up to Gerard the way you do, not many people can do that."

I could tell Peter was telling the truth. I could always tell when he was. He had this glisten in his eyes. An innocence that could never lie. Realizing that I had been staring, I turned to my door, trying to hide the blush.

"Good night, Peter." I said, before shutting the door behind me.

I was so not blushing at Peter. I just blush at awkward moments. Moments I didn't know how to respond to. Growing up for a time without emotions, I always had trouble deciphering them. But one thing I did know was that I was not blushing over Peter Parker.

Too bad I was up for the next hour running through my head what might've caused it.

Nope. He was not one of those things.


	11. Chapter 11

"Transference. It's when you redirect your feelings from one person onto another."

"I highly doubt that's what it is."

"Marley, listen. It wasn't until you saw Peter as Spiderman that you started having feelings toward him. Maybe it's just that you liked the traits of Spiderman and cast those feelings on Peter."

"That'd make sense, except Marley isn't shallow, Brooke." Rowan responded antagonistically. "I think that if anyone is making Marley feel any type of emotion, they must be pretty special. Seeing as Marley is somewhat emotionally disabled."

"Thank you for the support, both of you." I stopped them. Rarely would I ever get these two together. Brooke and I met when I started staying after school to wait on a ride from Luke. Brooke was a cheerleader and her boyfriend was one of the star football players, so they were the cliche couple that were destined to be together. And the exact couple that was the epitome of Rowan's disgust.

Rowan was to Brooke as I was to Sabrina. Not a good combination.

At least Rowan did respect one thing Brooke had— smarts. Seeing as we ended up in this conversation from Brooke's aspiring psychology degree.

All three of us had run into each other on campus this morning. I had been sitting near the sports field as Luke, a few guys from his team, and Peter were playing a few games of flag football.

"Let's say it's not transference. And you really do like Peter.." Brooke's widened as she looked at something in the distance. "You better jump on it, because that boy is fine.."

I turned to see what she was practically gaping at. Caleb, Brooke's boyfriend, was standing a little ways away from us, talking with a very shirtless and very muscular Peter Parker.

"I, honestly, was not expecting that.." Brooke said, still gaping.

"Earth to Brooke," I said, waving a hand in front of her face.

Jumping out of it, she turned back to me. "Act fast," she said, before hopping off her chair and parading towards her boyfriend, flashing Peter a charming smile in the meantime.

"There are not many things I agree with Brooke on," Rowan started, scooting closer to me so we were practically whispering. "But she did get one thing right. I think you making the first move would be a game changer."

"What do you mean?"

"Marley Sheppard has never had to go after a guy. Guys come after her." She smirked, sounding like one of those snotty interviewers. "But what if, this one time, you made the first move? I mean, at this point, it could be 50-50. We don't know what he's thinking about you. And every other time you've ever been in a relationship, the guy has moved in first. Elijah. Kyle. Gerard. Josh. Tyler. I think this is your chance."

"Put myself on the line?"

"It's a thought," She shrugged.

I glanced back over at Peter, who made eye contact with me at that exact moment. No smile. No wave. Just eye contact.

"I don't think my problem is that I never made the first move. I just don't think I ever realized what I was feeling first. I've always felt something, then let someone else explain what I was feeling. I think I want to come to my own conclusion this time. You know?"

"So, what are you feeling?" She asked.

I smirked, making eye contact with Peter again as he smirked in my direction as well. "Excited."

"Why?" She asked, trying to get me to analyze my emotions.

"Because I think Peter is trying to figure out the exact same thing I am. If our titles don't define us, then who are we?"

I looked back at Rowan who obviously was not listening to me, as she stared off past me.

"Speaking of titles, do not look at the one behind you.."

I whipped my head around.

"I said don't look!"

"Oh my Lord!" I tramped over to the girl who was starting to set the newspaper down. "Can I borrow this?" I asked her, taking it without an answer.

 **KK and Spiderman Together— Not a Coincidence**

"Marley tells the Studio that the two have spent an immeasureable amount of time together— Yeah, that's because he's my bodyguard! Didn't care to mention that in your dumb interview, huh!?" I looked crazy yelling at a newspaper.

Rowan came to my side, and I looked past her to see Peter heading our way.

Stuffing the newspaper in my back pocket, I turned to Rowan. "Don't mention this."

"Hey, guys." Peter approached us, fully clothed unlike earlier.

"Ready to go?" I smiled.

"Whenever you are."

"See you," Rowan said as I nodded to her. I merely didn't want Peter to know about the rumors because I wanted us to figure out us. When these rumors start, they get you thinking about questions and feelings that were never there before— what I was currently dealing with. Questions like, are these legit feelings or were they just sparked by all the questions about our relationship? All the rumors?

Forcing the thoughts out of my mind, I walked side by side with Peter to the apothecary. I finally had learned to walk with a crutch without stumbling everywhere.

"Did you see that game? It was crazy. I remember when I used to not be able to play football, like at all. Before I became Spiderman, at least. I was actually nervous to to start sports once I got the powers, but Mr. Stark pressured me into it. He said—"

Honestly, I zoned out through the rest of that conversation. For some reason, Peter was talking at a million miles an hour, and my mind was boxed up in one corner trying to figure out what was going on. As much as I wanted to pay attention to what Peter was saying, my thoughts grew louder than his voice.

What can I do to prove that Peter and I are only together for safety purposes? What if I in a dumb cliche way started falling for Peter? Of course, it would just be transference— what Brooke was saying. I mean, he is my bodyguard. It would only be normal for my mind to start falling in love with someone who was protecting me 24/7. But if I met Peter on the street, I probably would think the same things about him that I am now.. He's literally the kindest guy I have ever met. I have never heard him say one bad thing about someone. How could someone be so positive all the time?

I glanced over at him still holding his one-sided conversation, walking next to me with a bounce in his step. His smile really was the most genuine look I had ever seen. It was like he had nothing to hide. I doubt he could ever keep a secret, which would be good in a relationship.

Wait, relationship? I shook my head.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

Crap. I was only supposed to shake my metaphorical head. The one in my thoughts. Not the one that Peter could actually see. "I just—.. I just, I can't believe that, that.. That you took Mr. Stark's advice for once!"

"Oh, yeah, he totally wanted me to put myself out there! I guess because that's the kind of person he is."

We approached the apothecary. I placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, you can wait here. I think I'll be fine in there for one minute." I walked through the back door, doctor's order in hand.

I tried to not scare Zofie as I walked up by her, next to her desk where she was currently on the telephone.

She smiled over at me, holding her conversation still.

"Add Fabitrolite to it," I whispered to her, handing her the doctor's order.

"Is that Marley Sheppard I see?" I heard someone ask from over the counter.

I stood up straight to find Jeremiah Johnson peering into the apothecary.

"Hey, Jeremiah, it's been awhile."

"You're telling me. When's the last time I had you on my show?"

"Too long," I chuckled.

"That's right! And I'm offended you were on Miranda's show and not mine."

"Trust me, it was not by choice."

Jeremiah's show was one of my favorites to be on. Jeremiah was actually a good friend, since his show started way back when I first came to Churchill. He was one of the first people to help me feel comfortable in front of a camera. And there's a bonding experience that goes along with that.

"You coming to the premiere next week?"

"There's a premiere?"

Jeremiah nodded his head. "I'm interviewing Rowan, Sabrina, and some of the others that are in the show. If you're there, I'll squeeze you in for a pre-show interview. Put some of those rumors to bed."

"At least it's somewhat obvious that they're rumors.."

"Please, Sheppard, anyone that even remotely knows knows that you don't just faint into the arms of some American superhero. Be there an hour before the show, and I'll fit you in. Oh, and bring that Spiderboy friend of yours. It'll be a special exclusive!" He winked before heading out.

Once Jeremiah was out of sight, I squealed in delight and sprung over to Zofie, who was now off the phone.

"What? What? What happened!?" She asked, finishing up my gems.

"Jeremiah Johnson just offered to interview me and put all the rumors to rest! Which means I can finally sort through my emotions and feelings and don't have to worry about them being portrayed the wrong way. Oh, and he wants Peter to be there—"

"Peter, as in, your bodyguard you still haven't told me anything about? And more so, how come your leg is in a cast? Isn't he supposed to be preventing stuff like that?"

"It's been complicated! But you would love him. He's super sweet, and he's like the least selfish person I know. If he were to come into this apothecary, he'd be like your favorite customer."

"And you're dating?"

I slapped her on the arm. "Where did you get that?"

"From how you're talking about him! I never hear you talk about guys like this. Unless it's Luke, or River."

"No, we're not dating. And I'm not in the position to date. If I ended up dating Peter, that would pretty much prove all the rumors that Miranda started. I did this interview with her and she construed every single thing I said—"

"Marley," Zofie grabbed me by the shoulders. "Listen to me. There comes a day when you have to stop caring what people are going to say about you. I want you to clear your mind of what might be or what could happen and focus on what you're really feeling. If there's any lesson you should have learned over the course of your life, it's that you have the right to feel. Even as a Krino's Kid. They can't take this away from you. Not unless you let them. Obviously you're happy. So tell me why."

I knew Zofie. And I knew she wouldn't let me go until I answered.

I racked my mind as to why I was so happy. "I think.. I feel like I'm getting a second chance."

"How so?"

"When I first came to Churchill, I was so naive and innocent, and I never knew what bad could go wrong. Then, of course, I dated Elijah which turned into a huge publicity stunt, which sucked because I really liked him. Like, Elijah might have been the first guy I loved, and I felt betrayed when, at the first sign of a better deal, he left Churchill. Then Tyler, the same thing. He had better options.

"And now, with Peter, I know all these things, and I know all the bad that could go wrong. He's from America, for God's sake. There's a good chance he'll have to leave like all the others. But.. his innocence and the life in his eyes, he proves that you don't have to let the bad things in the world change who you are. And I think that's what I've spent the past five years doing. I've taken every little thing, every bad thing to heart and I've changed my perspective on the world because of it.

Zofie handed me my prescription, obviously content with my answer.

"I treated Peter pretty bad when he first came. And not once did he hurt me because of it, with his words or actions or even attitude. I think it's time I made it up to him."


	12. Chapter 12

On the walk home, I wanted to say something. Every time I scripted out a line in my head, the possibility of what Peter would say next always made me stop.

I was so focused on getting my feelings off my chest that I forgot to consider how he might respond.

I didn't really know what I was scared of. Peter was too nice that, even if he was harboring bitterness for how I first treated him, he probably would've pushed that aside to help me feel better.

As the coffee shop came into sight, I knew I had to say something. If I didn't, I'd regret it. It was now or never.

"These are for you." I handed Peter the prescription bag filled with gems.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "These are your pain gems.."

"I barely feel any pain. You need it more than I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw that one night when you came back from crime fighting, or whatever Spiderman stuff you do. Your ribs were covered in bruises. I know you could use them, so please don't make me take them back. I even added extra healing power to make the bruises go away quicker."

"I don't know what to say.."

"Let me." I interrupted him. "You better get your tape recorder out for this because it doesn't happen often."

Taking a deep breath, I continued.

"I'm sorry."

Peter chuckled. "For what?"

As if I've never done anything wrong before. I scoffed. "For treating you like crap when you first got here! It was nothing personal. I just wasn't fond of the whole idea of being watched like a hawk all the time—"

"I never held it against you." He interrupted me this time.

"And see! That's the problem! I'm this entire mess of emotions and judgment, and I cause my own problems all the time. Then you get the awful job of keeping me out of said problems. And on top of that, you're like perfect and never do anything wrong, which I should hate you for, but I—"

"Mars, it's fine. We're cool." He said, taking me by the shoulders.

I smirked at him. "You called me Mars."

"Isn't that what your friends call you?"

"Is that what we are now? Friends?"

"I mean, I would consider you my sidekick, but you have to prove yourself." He softly punched me in the shoulder.

"Please, if anyone's the sidekick here, that'd be you."

As we were laughing at each other, a scream came from down the street.

My eyes widened as they met with Peter's who seemed equally concerned.

"Ready to prove your skills?" Peter asked, turning towards where the scream came from.

"Don't underestimate me." I pulled the hood up from my jacket over my head, hiding my face.

Peter had me wait for him as he vanished to change into his Spiderman attire, which I swear he could do at the speed of light.

Within seconds, I was running trying to keep up with him. It was actually quite pitiful how slow I was compared to him.

"Out of breath?" Peter asked, as I finally met him where he stopped.

I felt as if I had been running for half an hour. Yet he was completely unfazed.

"I'm fine," I snapped at him as he shushed me for talking to loudly. I realized that he stopped at the corner of an alleyway from where voices were coming out of.

"Load of crap! I know you have some gems on you. Where are they!?" A male voice yelled.

"I don't! I don't, I lost them. I don't have any." A girl's voice squeaked out.

"Well, you know, I'm not leaving with nothing."

The girl must've had a hand slammed over her mouth as her screams came out muffled.

Peter stepped out from around the corner. "Well, that's one thing you got right. You can leave with this," he shot out webs at the male "And this," He swung right into the large figure, knocking him to the ground. Peter dodged a strike as the guy rose back up, the two going at it hand-to-hand.

I noticed the girl was curled up against the wall, trying to stay out of sight and out of mind.

I decided to make a run for it and head towards the girl to get her away from the scene. As I tried darting across the alleyway, my hood falling from my head, something caught my hair and yanked me back.

I let out a scream of pain. As the figure towered over me, a huge blast resonated from where we stood, shooting him back against the wall furthest from me.

I gasped for air, nearly falling to the ground. Don't black out.. You can't black out now. What kind of sidekick blacks out?

I knelt forward, trying to regain composure as I hobbled over to the girl, who was still sitting against the wall in terror. I heard the sound of fighting and Peter's sly remarks going on around me

"Come with me," I said, holding a hand out to the girl. She was reluctant to listen, but nonetheless took my hand. I mustered all the strength I could to get the girl away from the alley.

Soon, we rounded the corner and both leaned up against the wall.

"I'm Marley," I said, taking a deep breath, finally returning back to normal health.

"I'm Samantha." She said quietly.

A few moments passed in silence as I heard Peter finally finishing up the fight.

"Call your mom to pick you up. You'll be safe." I said, handing Samantha my cell phone.

Once she let her mom know where she was, she hung up the phone. "Thanks.."

I nodded.

"You know, I used to think that your entire family thought that you all were high and mighty and wouldn't care about situations like me, like this.. But, thank you." She said.

I smiled at her. Once she finally seemed to have calmed down, I headed back to the alleyway.

I noticed Peter sitting up against the brick wall. His masked face in his hands.

"Why the long face? You seemed to have it under control." I said, taking a seat next to him.

He pulled his mask off, his hair looking like a hot mess. "It's not that I didn't.."

"If you're worried about getting me into trouble, then I can tell you—"

"That's not it either." He interrupted me.

I sighed, letting him think through whatever was causing the distraught look on his face.

He started after a few moments. "It's just that.. My uncle, he died around this time a few years ago, in a situation not too different from this.."

"I'm sorry." It was all I could say.

"Usually it doesn't hit me this hard. I think it's just.. Being around your brother and all the guys, it made me realize all I didn't have growing up. And, I mean, now I have Tony, but with him, it's like.. Tough love. And it's not exactly—"

"Peter." I interrupted him. "Superheroes can be sad too."

He went back to being distant, focusing on the mask in his hands.

"I remember one of the first times I was really upset since being here at Churchill. This girl, Clarisse, she was a nasty person, saying the worst stuff about me and getting people to believe her. I'm not equating this to losing someone close to you, but I was really upset about the whole thing. And as a Krino's Kid, I felt like I couldn't act upset about it or people would think less of me for it. But as I look back, every single time I opened up to someone and showed them how I felt, I became real to them."

"I knew about Spiderman before I met you. Who you were then to me is much different than how I see you now. And it's not that I think less about you. It's that.. It's nice to know that someone who is doing all this good in the world is real."

I felt like I was preaching to the choir.

I glanced over to Peter who still hadn't responded to my speech. He looked exactly like someone who had lost someone close to them. He looked as if the floodgates could open any second.

Almost nervously, I reached over to put my hand on his, which was sitting on his knee.

I was praying he wouldn't cry. I mean, I'm all for being real, but if he cried, then I'd cry, then it'd be a huge mess.

Instead, we just sat there. Both of us zoning off into our thoughts.


	13. Chapter 13

When I woke up the next morning, the events of the night before blurred together.

After mine and Peter's conversation, Peter had offered to help me home. I wish I had been more alert to remember how it felt flying through the air, but all I remembered was how much I really wanted to pass out and go to sleep. And I did just that right as we got back to the coffee shop.

I remember collapsing on the couch, but when I opened my eyes, I was in my room. In my bed. In the same clothes I had been wearing the night before at least.

I made a mental note to ask Peter about that later.

Running down the stairs, I threw my backpack over my shoulder. Today was an actual work day— and not at the apothecary.

I noticed Peter sitting on the couch that was facing the TV in the corner.

"Hey, Peter, I forgot to mention that there's a premiere next week at the auditorium, and fate has given me a chance to make a come back. I set up an interview for us beforehand." I explained the whole thing as I made my to-go cup of coffee. "This interviewer is actually a friend of mine, so he won't screw us over. And I think it would be a good idea if you did the interview as Peter Parker, normal twenty year old, not Spiderman, world-renowned superhero—"

"I think that's a great idea!"

The booming voice from behind me made me jump, spilling coffee all over myself.

"Oh my gosh, Tony, you scared the crap out of me!" I put my face in my hands.

"And now you must be excited I'm here, right?"

I rolled my eyes. He was like an American version of Gerard. I should've known.

"Hey, I give you your savior, and that's how I get treated? Rolling eyes? Make me a cup, that smells good." Tony Stark ordered, pointing at my steaming cup of coffee.

"As amazing as Peter might be, I think it's Gerard I owe the thanks to, right? I mean, he's the one that opened Candor's doors to accepting outside help. You know how long Candor sat in the dark with other countries."

"Perhaps, Gerard. And maybe someone from my own team."

"Oh really?" I asked skeptically.

"Dr. Steven Strange."

I snickered. "That's the actual name of someone on your team?"

Peter came over to join our conversation. "Don't underestimate him! He's pretty cool."

"So this Dr. Strange, what does he have to do with getting the Avengers involved with Candor?"

"Glad you asked, my dear! He actually discovered your father's country. Smart guy, he is. Hiding it under almost an invisibility cloak. Like you're in an entire other dimension, but you're not. Quite brilliant actually."

"It's what we Sheppards do," I smiled arrogantly, shrugging my shoulders. "Brilliance. Defines us so well." I soaked in the compliment.

"Which is exactly why I think you and Dr. Strange would make the perfect duo."

I spit out of my coffee. "Excuse me?"

"Join the Avengers?"

I laughed. "Join the Avengers!? And do what!? I have no powers!"

"Peter, here, has told me some of what you can do, and I believe that Dr. Strange can help you control your powers."

"No, thank you, I like my life the way it is."

"Haven't you ever wanted to travel, Marley Sheppard? Explore the world?" Tony came to my side. "Dr. Strange is the best of the best. Would teach you all you need to know. You'd be the best little witch in the world."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a witch—"

"We need a good superhero name for you though—"

"Tony, I'm not joining the Avengers!" I raised my voice, finally shutting him up.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know who to call." He pointed between me and Peter. "Besides, that interview idea, I think it'll be good for you, Peter." Tony took the cup of coffee I had been making for him and sat on a stool at the coffee bar next to the boy.

"Let's look back to when you first came out. As Spiderman, I mean. No one believed you, and, to a lot of people, it's still surreal that you could even be Spiderman. Let's face it, you were a lanky high school boy who became a superhero. I think this interview will help it sink in— the reality of it all. Peter Parker is Spiderman."

"You know, I was just thinking that people could see Spiderman for who he is." I interjected. "A real person with emotions who is relateable and does what he does because he cares."

"Yeah, that too." Tony nodded towards me. "So, you in?"

"I was never out." Peter shook his head.

"Good answer. I'll catch you two lovebirds later." The comment earned another eye roll from me. Tony turned to leave, patting Peter on the back.

"You ready?" I asked, fixing my backpack over my shoulder again.

Peter held the door open for me as we made our way to the animal sanctuary, lab coat in hand.

"You're fine with doing that interview, right? I know it's weird, doing something as Peter Parker that you're used to doing as Spiderman."

"It is different definitely. But that doesn't mean I'm not fine doing it. Sometimes I'd rather people know me rather than Spiderman."

"If anything, it'll give you a chance to combine the two. I mean, you _are_ Spiderman. I think it's time you start seeing yourself as that."

We exchanged smirks, before we made it to the animal sanctuary.

Before I got in the zone working with the animals, I turned to Peter. "Did you carry me up to my room last night?"

Peter frowned, shaking his head. "I didn't."

Turning away, he opened his mouth again. "Spiderman did."

I bent down to feed one of the dolphins that approached the dock, trying to hide my blush.

Before the conversation was carried on, I heard footsteps come from the other side of the dock that surrounded the tank.

"Hey, stranger."

I peered over my shoulder and pushed down tears that were filling my eyes. "Jia!" I stood up, arms open wide.

We embraced as he swept me up in a hug. Jia and my brother Luke originally started off as enemies, since Jia hated the Krino. As we grew closer though, Jia didn't completely agree with the Krino's values, but he did soften up towards me and my family as a family, not as political figures. So much so that he taught me everything I know, and even passed the animal sanctuary down to me.

And so much that the sight of him made my heart jump for joy. Just like if I hadn't seen Luke in a long time.

I rarely ever saw Jia anymore though. Sometimes he would sneak across campus lines to see me and check up on the animals, and, even if he was banned, I'd never tell.

"I've missed you," He said, letting me go.

"I know, they've missed you too." I gestured to the dolphins that had grouped up, facing towards us.

Jia chuckled. "Hey, I'm Jia." He extended a hand to Peter.

"Peter."

Jia cocked an eyebrow at me.

"My dad's requiring that we have bodyguards now."

"Figures. There's a lot of crazy things going on. I saw the videos of that bomb that exploded in the courtyard. How's your leg?"

"Pretty healed."

"Gems helped?"

"You know it." I replied. "How's Mill Creek life?"

Jia ran a hand through his black hair, groaning. "You remember Professor Mason?"

I shook my head.

"There's rumors of him leading a student army against the Krino— planning some nuclear attack." Jia rolled his eyes. "But he's a Mill Creek teacher. Anyone who is anyone isn't taking him seriously. And, now that those rumors are out there, I'm sure he's under constant surveillance."

"Who is this teacher? I don't remember anything about him." Although I didn't remember much from my few months on Mill Creek campus.

"Short hair. Almost like a mohawk. Slim. He used to yell at kids in the hallways."

That's when it clicked.

My pulse started racing, but I tried to keep calm.

"What's his story?" I tried to ask in the most untroubled voice possible.

"He was a teacher here way back when. Almost same story as me— except he got expelled for good reason. Was turning students away from the Krino."

"How? When?"

"Probably when Luke and I were little. I don't know too much about it. I'm sure there's news articles on the whole ordeal though."

I took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Jia asked.

I stumbled over my words. "I—I'm just thinking of all this work I have to do today. My new intern's been taking care of the sanctuary for the past few days, so I need to make sure every animal is good and ready for the weekend.

"I'll let you to it. Nice meeting you, Peter. Will I see you at nationals, Mars?"

I forgot all about nationals. Nationals happens at least once a year. All the performance schools in Candor get together at the Arbor and compete and earn awards. It's the one place that Jia and I could legally be together.

"If I have any say over it."

I waved goodbye to Jia, who was heading back out the back entrance. The back entrance that I knew Peter and I would have to use. To sneak into Mill Creek. To track down this Professor Mason.

As soon as I knew Jia was out of earshot, I turned to Peter.

"I know who set that bomb up in the courtyard."


	14. Chapter 14

A week passed and we never got a good chance to sneak out.

Every single night, something would come up. Either Luke would be hosting something he'd want me at the coffee shop for. PJ, my mentor, would ask me to proofread something of his. Rowan would stop in and want to hang out.

Tonight was the premiere, so it definitely couldn't be tonight.

I was actually nervous, and I wasn't even performing. I knew practically everyone who was though— Rowan being one of the main stars, along with Corey and a few others in their class that I had mutually been acquainted with.

No, what I was nervous about was the interview Peter and I were doing.

The only interviews I've collaborated with people on were if we were all involved in Churchill. I've done multiple interviews with Sean, my childhood best friend. A few with Luke. A handful with some other cast members when I performed at Churchill.

But with a superhero? Body guard? Potential love interest? Never.

The past week, I may not have gotten alot done, but I did come to terms with one thing— I was crushing on Peter.

And I use the term crushing lightly.

I know what it's like to be in love, and I definitely was not there, but there were things about Peter that made me want to spend more time with him and be more like him and closer to him. And they were things that I had noticed before, but I couldn't put a word on how I felt when I was with him.

Things Peter would do would make the old Marley come out— the person I was before I was jaded with rumors and criticism and expectations.

I guess you could say we could act like innocent children together, and I hadn't felt like one of those in a long time.

Tonight was a night I had to push all that aside though.

No childish antics tonight.

I pulled out a dress I knew would be perfect for tonight. It was a red ballgown that completely matched Spiderman's suit. I hadn't worn it for a few years, but thankfully it still fit.

I couldn't be bothered, so I threw my hair up in a bun on the top of my head. It would do. Any other time I would put more effort into this outfit, but, tonight, I was mostly looking forward to getting this over with.

I carefully stepped down the coffee shop stairs to get to the foyer where Luke and Peter were waiting.

"Hey, Partner." Peter said, standing up from his seat at the bar. He was wearing a navy blue suit, and his hair was perfectly styled.

I smiled, squinting my eyes in curiosity. "Partner." I repeated.

We spared the money on a limo and hitched a ride in Luke's sports cart. As many times as I had to make this ride in a ball gown, you'd think I'd be a pro at keeping my outfit together. But I knew as soon as I stepped off the cart that my hair probably looked straight out of a storm.

"You look nice." Peter said quietly to me. So quiet that I doubted he even said it.

Before I could question him, a shrill voice rang through the air.

"Wow! You two look hot together!"

I felt like I could die from embarrassment. Instead, I faked my composure and stood up taller. "Hi, Brooke." I hugged the girl, not sounding too thrilled.

Peter obviously felt the same way as he hugged her reluctantly. "Who is she?" He mouthed over her shoulder.

"Brooke is your biggest fan!" I said out loud.

"Oh, please. I've heard enough about him to be!"

My face must've turned deep red because I could feel the heat. I glared at her in silence for a few seconds.

"Marley and I have worked together in the past a lot. We've gotten closer recently since my boyfriend's joined Luke's football team. Caleb, you may have met him?"

"Oh yeah, he's a cool guy!"

As Brooke went on to torment the next person, I turned to Peter. "She thinks that everyone should be in a happy relationship like her and her boyfriend." I tried to suppress the eye roll this time.

"Shouldn't we all be? In a happy relationship, I mean. I think with all the bad in the world that's one thing that everyone deserves. Someone to be happy with." Peter responded, waving to a few fans of his that were waving at him from afar.

I was shocked— half because Peter really did have fans that noticed him, and half because he turned that conversation into something deep that I hadn't thought of.

Before I could continue the conversation, I felt an arm around my shoulder.

"Talking relationships, are we?" Gerard pulled me close to him, further away from Peter. "Remember ours, Marley?"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? That rumor is long gone."

"It still lives out there somewhere in the world."

"In your dreams." I laughed.

"It's okay to admit your jealous, Marley."

Peter cut off the conversation, probably to avoid any more snide remarks as we had a few interviewers around us now trying to eavesdrop. "Taking the night off?" Peter asked Gerard.

"Yeah. I missed coming to these things. I used to come all the time when I went to Churchill. Thought I could meet old friends, reminisce a little—" Gerard stopped when he heard someone yell his name. He spun around heading in the opposite direction to mingle with other people.

That's literally all this was before the premiere. It was all mingling. And as much as I had done it before, I was so over it. The sound of cameras flashing and interviews being conducted filled the courtyard air.

All the cast that was performing tonight were in various interviews across the courtyard answering questions and getting pictures taken of them.

Right when Peter and I were standing in the same spot just long enough to be awkward, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, you ready?" Jeremiah asked, taking Peter's hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you, Spiderman." Jeremiah said with a charming smile. No wonder he made such a good interviewer. He showed us to where he had three chairs set up. Two were facing the one, where Jeremiah would sit, and a camera showed on the three of us.

"So, Marley, your last interview I could tell was pretty scripted, kind of angled in a certain direction. I really want this interview to be raw and real."

Peter and I nodded our heads as we got situated in our chairs.

"We have fifteen minutes until the premiere starts, so let's get this over and done with fast." Jeremiah said, counting down the camera man to start filming.

"Tonight I'm here with Krino's daughter Marley Sheppard and her new bodyguard Peter Parker. Or as most know him as, Spiderman. Thank you joining me tonight!"

The next few minutes involved some generic questions that I had been asked multiple times before. Like, "How does it feel to be back at Churchill?" "How have my relationships grown with the cast members this year?" "How has the storm affected work and school life?"

Then he repeated some questions that Miranda had asked. In a much nicer tone, of course.

"So, you absorbed the impact of the bomb with a force field and only managed to escape with a broken leg? That's superhero material too."

I laughed at his comment.

"I'm just glad to know that you're not suffering from any illness. I also have to ask, Tony Stark has stopped by to meet with the two of you. How have those gone?"

"He's pretty cool! I think of him as an American version of Gerard, who used to attend Churchill a few years back. He's the national defense commander, so him and Tony are in pretty close contact."

After Jeremiah set the record straight with me, he pointed the attention more towards Peter.

"So, when I think of Superhero, the first thing that comes to my mind is Thor. All-powerful, like a God-figure. But you make the reality of it all pretty simple. Do you think that's why you've developed such a pretty large fan base, and not just in America?"

"I mean, that's exactly it. I try to keep it simple and keep it real. I never asked to be a superhero, but I also didn't grow up being a superhero. This whole process I've had to learn, and being here is a big step in that process. I'm just glad I got the few years I did to keep the information to myself, because, I admit, at first it got to my head."

"As a lanky, skinny guy I completely understand. I probably would juice that superhero stuff until people were sick of it. I think you've managed to stay pretty grounded. Which leads me to, why do you do what you do? And I know you probably get asked that question alot, but I want to know your feelings behind it. Is it out of obligation?"

"I don't see it as an obligation really. It's a necessity. With great power comes great responsibility, and there have been people in my life that have drilled that moral into me. It's part of my foundation now.

"And if you weren't a superhero, you would still be living by that mantra?"

"Definitely. I think that's the cool thing about it. It can be practiced by anyone anywhere. With any power comes any responsibility, and I believe that it's what you do with the small responsibility you get that determines what you'll do when bigger opportunities arise. As long as you're faithful in small things, it proves that you can follow through with more."

"So how do you decide what are your big responsibilities? I know, being a bodyguard for Marley Sheppard is pretty big responsibility. It's your assigned task now. But what about, like, a little old lady who needs help finding where her cat is? Or a stolen bike?"

Peter chuckled. "Believe it or not, that's actually where I got my start. When Tony Stark first came across me, those are the exact jobs that I was putting my entire effort into. I think it's because I put so much emphasis on people. I try to assume the best in people, which is why I never let the smallest thing past me. If I see something wrong being done, I'm going to stop it. One small sin has the same intention behind it as a major crime. With me, you start out with trust and you either gain more or lose it. That's why the people I'm closest too, like Tony, Gerard, and Marley, I'm undoubtedly devoted to."

"And you're not just saying that because you're being filmed?" Jeremiah laughed, earning a laugh from me and Peter as well.

"Thank you so much for joining us and sharing with us a little bit personally about the both of you. We hope to see you two together more in the future!"

As Peter and I said our thank yous, Jeremiah bid us farewell as he went to grab his seat to watch the premiere.

"You have no idea how nervous I was.." Peter whispered.

I giggled. "You were amazing. I wish I was as fluent for my first interview. You were a natural. It's pretty disgusting, actually."

"Maybe that spider gave me social skills too.."

"No, I think that's just your ego." I bumped his arm as we headed towards the auditorium.

"No crime fighting tonight?" Peter asked.

"Tomorrow, yes. Tonight, I think we can just be in this moment for now." I said.

I wish I remembered what the show was about. My mind was filled with thoughts. So much of what Peter said had resonated within me. It was like I had suffocated a part of my heart that I felt had been punctured. Peter had brought to life that part that completely shut people out.

And tonight I vowed to start letting people in again.


	15. Chapter 15

Peter and I got home late after the premiere. With all the after parties we could have gone to, we decided to be responsible and retire for the night.

My head felt like it was in the clouds, and I swear I could feel my heart fluttering with every step I took. Too much time had passed since a guy I was interested in actually liked me back.

I'll admit, I had to warm up to Peter. He grew on me, and not to mention he saved my butt various times. But that wasn't even what drew me to him.

Peter had something I've been missing possibly the past whole year. Maybe even few years. Peter was innocent. He wasn't cynical. He was Spiderman, for God's sake! He didn't need to have a list of person's sins to know who were worth saving and who weren't.

It had been way too long since I had that point of view. My memories went back to when I left Ashington and first came to Churchill, my first heartbreak. I would say that was the start of my downfall— trusting Elijah, the first boy who said he loved me, to stay. From then on, I had to learn to trust myself. To become independent.

I wouldn't say I lost my independence. But something about the quirky boy that only saw the good in people made me feel drawn to him more than I had been drawn to anyone in a long time.

Peter Parker helped me gain my innocence back.

And as I lay in bed that night, that was the only thing that flooded my mind.

I could hit myself over the head over and over again for falling in love with Peter, who should've been strictly my bodyguard. But where's the life in that?

I decided to finally live it for myself. Not for the press. Not for the Krino. And not for anyone else.

And I guess that's what drew me out of bed that night.

I tiptoed out of my room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I didn't even want a fly to know what I was about to do.

Without even knocking, I creaked open the third door to the left. Peter's room.

"Marley?" Peter asked quietly, but still with his iconic, boyish voice. You wouldn't guess that it came from a twenty-year-old.

He sat up on his bed from laying on his side. It was the first time I had seen him shirtless, and the black sweatpants he wore didn't draw any attention away from his toned muscles. I honestly didn't even know the boy was that ripped.

"I.. I—uh.." Since when do you stutter, Marley Sheppard. Speak! "I wanted to say, 'You, too.'"

Peter shook his head, not understanding. I'm not quite sure I understood what I was trying to say.

Hurriedly, I scampered over to his bed and took a seat next to him.

"At the premiere, you told that reporter that everything you did wasn't out of obligation. It was out of necessity. To put some good back into the world, you know?"

He nodded his head. His hair bobbing into his eyes as he hung on my every word.

"And, uh.. You also mentioned how you truly cared for people, but even more so people that you spend every day with. People that you know personally. And, in all my life," I lowered and slowed my voice, trying not to let my nerves get the best of me. "All my life, the people I was closest to, I judged the most. I was harder on my best friends than I was on strangers that came to Churchill. And then, you came, and I was even harder on you. Not only was I stuck with you, but I didn't want you around at all. And that wasn't fair."

"Marley.."

"Peter, hear me out. It wasn't fair to you. And it wasn't fair to me. I admire everything you do. Everything you've done for me. And pushing you away in the beginning, I was just trying to forget what I've lost. All the fervor and the passion for life. And I know you mentioned how I had the audacity to stand up to Gerard, but, Peter, your audacity comes in still caring for him. I've noticed, he can be a jerk, not only to me."

We chuckled together, before making eye contact.

"And all this time, you just give and give, and you care for people that don't even give you the time of day. And.. I just had to tell you that, well.. I do. I care for you, Peter. And I go back on every bad thing I ever said about you and all the times I pushed you away. I want you around for a long time. Maybe not as a body guard.."

We laughed again.

Once we quieted down, silence engulfed us. I could feel his body heat radiating, and I hoped he couldn't hear how anxious my heart was beating.

"Walk me home?" I asked, smiling at him from over my shoulder.

Peter stood up, leading me out of his bedroom. He carefully shut his door as to not wake anyone that may have been home from the premiere.

We reached my bedroom door approximately five feet away.

"That was a close one, huh?" I chuckled, standing with my back to the door.

"Yeah, you never know what kind of villains are out in this coffee shop at night." Peter said, still keeping his voice down.

For once, I watched Peter's eyes as he glanced down to the floor and back up at me. His eyes weren't sky blue or sea green, but they sparkled like they had never seen a hint of darkness in their life.

"Well, thank you, Spiderman, but I think I'm going to bed now." I went for the door knob, but didn't reach it before Peter grabbed my hand.

"Don't go." He said quickly, drawing my hand closer to him.

Our faces were suddenly closer than I remembered. I could feel his breath on my skin as he bit his bottom lip.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." Peter whispered.

And in that moment, I realized I had fallen in love with Peter Parker as well.

I pulled my hand from his. Placing my hand at the nape of his neck, I stepped forward, finally having the physical contact with him that I didn't know I was craving.

Without hesitation, Peter placed his hands on my waist and dipped his head down, letting our lips meet for the first time.

What I thought was going to be short and sweet turned into passion and desire. I wrapped my arms around Peter's neck as he moved his hands to the small of my back, pressing our bodies even closer together than seemed possible.

I reached one hand behind me and slipped open my bedroom door, carefully stepping backwards to lead Peter in as he shut the door behind him.

Our lips disconnected momentarily as he dropped me onto my bed. As he towered above me, we both were nearly gasping for air. I could feel his abs tremor above my body as he breathed into my neck, both of his arms on either side of my head.

I trailed my fingers from his neck into his hair. Peter lifted his head only to crash his lips down onto mine once again. I tugged on his hair, allowing me to deepen the kiss even further.

I pulled one hand away from his neck and slid it down to his shoulder where his muscle was strained trying to hold himself up.

I pushed him up, trying to change positions and flip over on top.

 **Crash.**

"Oh God, Peter, are you okay?" In the moment, I hadn't realized that where I was flipping Peter was towards the edge of the bed instead of the opposite direction.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine." He sat up, his hand on the back of his head.

"Marley! Are you okay?" I heard my brother's voice from outside my door.

I cursed to myself. "Yeah! I'm fine. Don't come in! I.. I—uh.."

I watched Peter jump swiftly to his feet, trying to come up with a game plan.

"I started my period, and there's blood everywhere! It's everywhere! Just wait."

I glanced back to where Peter was standing a second ago and noticed him gone, but my bedroom window open.

Good timing because right at that second, Luke came barging in the door.

"Excuse me!" I yelled at him.

"You sounded in pain!"

"I am! They're bad cramps, okay!?" I yelled at him.

"Sorry, sorry! I'll make you some tea or something."

"Yes! Please, thank you!" I yelled at him angrily, not sounding grateful at all.

Luke rolled his eyes and shut my bedroom door.

Got I probably looked awful. I could feel my hair knotted and the sweat trickling down my forehead.

I threw myself back onto my bed, realizing what I had just done.

Covering my face, I flipped over and screamed into my pillow.

 _I just made out with Peter freaking Parker._

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure the smile on my face was bright enough to light up even the darkest of corners of my bedroom. The bedroom. The bedroom where I just kissed Peter Parker.

So much for being able to sleep tonight. Although this time, it wasn't annoying voices keeping me up.


	16. Chapter 16

You would think the next morning I would wake up with my head in the clouds and butterflies in my stomach.

No. Instead I woke up with a headache and squinted eyes.

"Marley, you have to get up. They need us at the Environmental base."

I peered through my droopy eyelids to see my brother standing above me.

I groggily got out of bed. The sun was still down. I glanced at my clock that read 4:00 AM.

Groaning, I pulled on some clothes that I hoped didn't look as bad as I felt.

I met my brother, his bodyguard, and Peter outside the coffee shop.

Peter looked about as awful as I did. Luckily, Luke was much more awake than all of us since he was the one that had to drive there.

I sat in the front seat with Luke, as Peter and Luke's bodyguard sat in the back.

"So, why do they need us at this Godforsaken hour?"

"Some type of emergency. They're contemplating whether to force a mandatory evacuation to the shelter."

I shook my head. "I don't understand. The environmental base? It was sunny the past week, barely raining at all. No sign of storms."

"Which is why they're thinking it's man-made. Anyways, they're keeping their eye on it, and they wanted us to check it out. At this point of time, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, especially with that storm that wiped us out last season."

I leaned back in my chair, praying it was nothing. In the worst case scenario, it would just be a supercell that was dying off by the minute now.

We rolled up to the science and technology building. The environmental department sat on top of the building, almost like an observation tower.

We climbed up the numerous floors of stairs to reach the top. Nothing like an early morning workout.

"Thank you for joining us." I noticed the lady who greeted us as Helga Ogelbach. I recognized her from a few weeks ago when I first met Peter.

"There have been some mysterious findings over the last 12 hours, and we wanted to see what your call would be. As Krino Kids, you have the say in what goes, and if it is in your best interest to force an evacuation then we will."

Luke and I nodded as Helga led us over to one of the numerous computer screens that lit up the entire enclosure.

Corey was at the computer controlling the view.

"So if you look here," Corey pointed out, "You see that there was barely any atmospheric disturbance. It all seemed fine, until about 6 to 8 o'clock last night. You see this pressure start to form, almost like a cold front." He showed us these red and blue bands that started spinning against each other all of a sudden.

I looked up to see that the ceiling of the department showed us physically what was happening on Corey's computer. I watched overhead as the clouds started to form and circulate. It was all a really hi-tech ordeal.

"Usually, I would think 'just a storm', but storms don't escalate in a two hour period. Not ones with this intensity at least. And it seems to be very directed. I don't want to make assumptions, but almost like someone was controlling it. Which as been our suspicion since the last big storm."

"Corey," I interrupted him. "Tell me, if you could guess, where did you think the storm was being originated from?"

Corey chuckled. "Marley, Candor is a small country. If the storm were to be created, it could come from practically anywhere." He took a deep breath. "But, if I had to guess, the farther away an area is, the more power they would need to fuel a storm at a distance. Therefore, practically, the source should be within a fifty mile radius."

My eyes widened. I turned to Luke and pulled him away from the group of bystanders who had taken an interest in Corey's lecture.

"Luke, do you trust me?"

"If this has anything to do with you leaving in the middle of this, then no."

"Luke, you have to hear me out. I think I know where the source is—"

"But what if you're wrong, Marley? Then you're out there in this crazy supercell storm, and, I won't only be worried about you, but everyone else is going to wonder—"

"You have to trust me. Plus, I have Peter."

Luke shook his head at me.

"Jia told me that there's a group in Mill Creek that could be planning something. And I bet this could be it."

Luke peered at me through his skeptical eyes. I know bringing Jia's name up didn't help, but he knew that once Jia was brought in, I was never going to let this die.

"I have to trust my instincts on this one."

"Peter Parker." Luke called over to Peter, who had been keeping a distance eyeing us.

He stood between me and Luke.

"Keep her safe. Whatever you're going to do, you've got to be quick."

I smirked at Luke, taking Peter by the arm and practically running down the stairwell. I didn't even care to say goodbye or look behind me. I knew what had to be done.

"So, where are we going?" Peter asked, jogging beside me.

"We have to get across the border to Mill Creek." I stopped in my steps. "I just didn't think about the logistics.."

"You realize who you're talking to, right?" Peter said, shooting a web off into the air.


	17. Chapter 17

"6:00." Peter whispered to me as we peered over the hedge that guarded the academic buildings of Mill Creek.

"We don't have a lot of time before the sun starts to rise."

"I'm not sure it will rise with this weather.." Peter pointed behind me.

I looked up to the sky to see heat lightning resonate in clouds as black as night. It was a deathly view.

"Think you could get us past those guards?" I whispered.

"Do I think?" Peter asked rhetorically.

I snickered, as Peter shot a web out in the opposite direction behind me.

"Did you hear that?" One of the guards whispered to another. They sounded young enough to be actual students.

"It came from over there!" The other guard responded, pointed to the completely opposite direction of where Peter and I were hiding.

Quietly, Peter rose out from the bush.

I guess one of the perks of being Spiderman is being stealthily quiet. If I wasn't expecting Peter to pull me out of the bush with him, I would've been extremely startled. Instead, I trailed behind him, letting him lead the way to the next safe spot.

"Where exactly are we supposed to be going?" Peter asked.

"I have to find Jia. He'll know where the base is."

"For claiming to be someone who doesn't trust people, you sure have a lot of trust in this dude."

"He's one of the few." I said. Within seconds of the coast being clear, I ran across the Mill Creek courtyard to the dorm rooms. Pulling up the hood over my head, I walked through the dimly lit yard to where I knew Jia's window was.

Ducking in the hedge beneath Jia's window, I felt Peter close by. His body heat warming the area beside me.

"How are you going to get him out here now?" Peter asked.

I swear I had to give this kid a play-by-play.

Struggling to actually find a way to get Jia up, I remembered what was in my pocket. I slumped back against the brick wall and dialed Jia's number in my phone.

After a few rings, he answered. "Open your window." I hung up the phone immediately.

Above us, the window slowly slid open, Jia poking his head out.

Quickly, Peter spun a web and pulled me and him into Jia's apartment, shoving Jia backwards.

"Whoa! A little warning, please!" Jia said, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Jia, there's no time. They're about to declare a state of emergency, and I think it has something to do with Professor Mason."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Professor Mason? I highly doubt that—"

"Jia, Professor Mason is the one who set the bomb in the Churchill courtyard! I snapped a picture that got a glimpse of his face, and I know it's him. I remember seeing him around campus, and then you were telling me all those things—"

"Okay, I believe you. I believe you. Now be quiet before someone hears you." Jia nervously glanced around, even though I was quite sure we were the only people in his apartment.

"Do you have any idea where his headquarters might be?"

Jia flashed me a knowing look. "Let's go." He grabbed a black cloak from his closet, pulling it over him.

Jia led the way across campus, only semi caring about being seen.

Thankfully, the few people we did pass didn't care enough to examine under the hood that covered my face.

Finally, we reached the outside of an old wooden door. Behind it, you could hear the sounds of people chattering and computers beeping.

"Now, I need you to stay hidden. And do not say a word. Not until I say the code word."

"Wait, what's the code word?" Peter asked anxiously.

"Now."

"That's the code word?" Peter asked again.

"Yes, Peter. The code word is now." I said. I love the boy, but sometimes he talked too much. Or maybe it was that when I'm nervous I don't talk enough.

Peter and I stepped behind Jia into the small hallway that led into what looked like Mill Creek's version of an environmental department. Instead of all the cool gadgets that Churchill had, they only had a projector screen that showed the surrounding area. The computers looked like they could be from a few decades ago.

"Jia!" I heard a voice shout from across the room. "So have you finally accepted my offer? You going to join the Mystic Alliance?"

"I had to sleep on it." Jia responded.

I peered around the corner to see Jia pulling something out of his pocket.

"And you brought them? You'd be a good asset to our team."

"Plug those gems in, and your storm will be like any other tornado, times ten." Jia said.

My heart dropped. I hoped this was part of Jia's plan.

The voice chuckled. I glanced around the corner to see that it was Professor Mason, as I had expected. The dark circles around his eyes made him look even more villainous than he had before as just the science teacher.

"You're an honest man, Jia. You fooled those Churchill blockheads well."

"Oh, there's more." Jia said. "I thought it'd be a little disappointing if I just brought gems. Come on out!" Jia yelled. In my direction.

In our direction. I felt Peter's breath hitched as mine did too. How after all these years could Jia have ratted me out?

"We have guests?" Professor Mason asked.

Peter tugged my arm as I stepped out from the dark hallway.

"And I thought I'd never see you again when Churchill finally got you back!" Mason said.

All the computer typing that had been going on in the room stopped. You could hear a pin drop.

"They never lost me.." I said.

Mason chuckled. "If you like to think that. But you know, dear, you loved Mill Creek more. Less drama. And we all know you don't want anything to do with royalty anyways. You're too down to earth for those shenanigans—"

"My father is the most down-to-earth person I know. He saves millions of lives a day—"

"Well, what about mine!?" Mason yelled, making me jump. "He didn't save me when I was hurt and wounded. Didn't have enough gems to deal with the pain. Risked being banished for not paying my dues. But no, the Krino only cares for those he chooses to care about!"

"I think you're mistaken—"

"No, my dear, Marley, you are mistaken. And the fact that he's still fooling you!"

I glanced at Jia to see him blank faced. With every passing second my heart was dropping, praying that he had a plan. That my long time friend wasn't giving me over.

"I know who would be happy to see you." Mason said.

Before he could continue, Jia whispered one simple word. The code word. "Now."

Within seconds, webs were flying over my head, gluing all the alliance member's hands down to their keyboards.

Mason had managed to make Jia going flying backwards, hitting the wall behind him.

Jia tried to get up, but groaned and fell backwards.

I couldn't tell what it was exactly. Maybe electricity. But I knew that whatever was flying out of Mason's hands towards me was not good.

I ducked my head, trying to shield myself from each attack. With each hit, I felt an explosion around me. I looked up to see a force field blocking all the attacks.

But with each deflected attack, the more faint I felt.

I shook myself awake. I had to get control over this.

I shot my hand out towards Mason and a flash of my own electricity flew out of my palm, knocking Mason against rows of computers.

Few by few, the Alliance Members were trying to find ways out of the webs they were stuck in. Peter fighting against each one of them. "You guys are tougher than you look!" I heard Peter yell.

"Marley!" I heard Jia shout from behind me. "The gem. You have to plug the gem in!"

I looked towards where Jia was pointed. What I thought was a projector and a projector screen must actually be controlling the entire storm.

That's when I realized that Mason had the gems.

It was nearing sunrise, and with each second I saw the storm get closer and closer to Churchill, multiplying in size.

I knew I couldn't take too long coming up with a strategy. I got blasted off my feet, and hit the wall behind me.

I tried to stand up, but I drooped to my knees, trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of me.

Right when I heard Mason starting to charge another blast towards me, I heard a loud crash.

"Didn't your mother tell you not to hit girls?" Peter said, standing over Mason as he punched him square in the face.

As Mason was dazed, Peter snatched the pocket of gems off of him and threw them towards me.

I knew this was my chance. I had to push myself. With all my might, I took a few deep breaths and stood up. If I had the power to create force fields, I knew I had to have some power to regenerate my health.

"Whoa!" I heard Peter yell as he was flung off Mason.

Somehow I managed to make it to the packet of gems. Standing up straight, I ran towards the projector, storm-generator thing.

I felt another slam against my body, knocking me to the ground once again. And this time I was pretty sure I couldn't get up.

"Where's your father now, Sheppard?" Mason shouted towards me.

Peter flung a web at Mason's face, shutting his mouth up.

As Peter and Mason took a few goes at each other, I noticed Jia standing up where he was knocked out. He was holding his side which seemed to be dripping in blood.

With every step, he hobbled towards the generator. Gems in hand.

Mason was too distracted with Peter to notice anything that was going on. I knew I was in eyesight of him, but I'm sure he forgot all about Jia.

As I watched Jia take the gems out of the small satchel, a burst of energy came to me.

Standing up, I used whatever magic I knew I had left in me to shoot out a bolt of energy towards Mason.

At the same time, Jia inserted the gem into the projector, making what was the large storm evaporate into many small storms which started circling into chaos away from each other.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the whole system shut down.

Coughing coming from across the room made me come back to reality.

All the alliance members around us were frozen in fear. Many still stuck to their computers, only helplessly watching the seen around them.

I walked over to the opposite side of the room where Peter was standing over Mason's body. The left side of his body seemed to be burnt pretty bad, and I couldn't comprehend how I could've done that type of damage.

I glanced at Peter, who looked at me sorrowfully. I know he hated to see people suffering, but as much as I felt his pain, I felt justice too.

And then I felt a righteous anger at Mason's next words.

"I'm sure your brother would've loved to see you. I'll tell Sean you stopped by."

He grimaced.

I shook my head in disgust and wonder as I stomped away from him.

Peter followed me as I headed out of the building. I didn't care to look behind me, and I didn't care who saw me. I felt the tears flood my eyes.

Peter took my by the shoulders. "Mars, what was that about?"

I shook my head, the tears now falling down my cheeks. "I never expected Sean to be involved in something like this. I knew he was bad, but not like this. Maybe it would be best if he had gotten banished.."

"I'm confused. What is this about?"

"Luke and I are two of ten children. People think Luke is the oldest, but he's not. Sean is. And Sean was supposed to be banished from Candor for misconduct, but my father spared him. Let him stay. And now all this—"

Peter took me into his arms as I sobbed into his shoulder.

"I won't believe it.."

And that's how we stood for a long time. The sun started shining as the clouds scattered. It was finally morning.

And I couldn't be more indignant.


	18. Chapter 18

"I would like to thank everyone who put their efforts into maintaining the safety of Churchill and the country of Candor. Even though some of you are not Churchill members yourself. You have honored your country greatly."

After a long day of sleeping, we all managed to make it to an honorary ceremony.

"There would be too many names to name if we mentioned everyone that influenced the future of our country today." Gerard stated as he stood in front of the crowd of reporters and VIPs.

Anyone from Tony Stark to Jia had made this ceremony. It was a big deal to finally have caught a storm in its tracks, and exposed the Mystic Alliance for what it was— an actual operating student body of Mill Creek determined to wreak chaos on behalf of injustice they felt had been done to them.

"I want to especially thank those who went straight into enemy territory, ready to face whatever was to come. And for the one who smuggled them in. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. We will give credit where credit is due. Thank you, Jia."

The smile on my face couldn't have been bigger. I think this was the first time in Churchill history someone had actually honored a Mill Creek member.

And thankfully, with the help of a few healing gems, Jia didn't look as beat up as he should look from what he endured. But then again neither Peter nor I.

I glanced over to Peter next to me, who didn't look nearly as happy as I did.

Before I had time to ask him what was wrong, everyone stood to their feet and started clapping.

"Thank you, thank you." Tony Stark took to the front of the stage.

"I want to thank everyone for having me and my team of Avengers, especially in this time of need. We want to leave that door open for whenever you do need us again. We will be readily available." Tony tipped his head towards Gerard.

The crowd roared in applause and began to disperse.

Peter and I followed the movement of the crowd as they headed towards the courtyard.

Thankfully the reporters didn't stick around to long, and once they got a few pictures, they dispersed as well.

This left Peter and I alone in front of the courtyard fountain.

"What's been bothering you?" I turned to him, cutting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" Peter chuckled as if nothing wrong.

"Don't bull crap me, Peter Parker, I've been around you enough the past few weeks to know when something's been bothering you. Now, spill."

Peter glanced around, trying to figure out the words. "A few years ago this week, my uncle Ben died.."

"Your uncle who was like a father?"

"That's the one.. And.. Usually I don't get this bad, but my Aunt May called me yesterday.."

I nodded my head.. I knew where this was going..

"She's not doing well, Marley."

"So, you're going home?"

Peter rubbed his arms nervously. "I can't stand to hear her like this. Tony said I could go be with her, until she gets better at least."

I nodded my head. "Peter, your family is important. You're all she has.."

"I know, but I'm just scared.. I'm scared if I leave, things won't be the same when I come back."

I chuckled. "You're right. They won't be." My eyes met his, which looked instantaneously hurt. "They'll be better. Because I'll be here. And you'll be here. And your aunt will be feeling better again so all you will have to worry about is you and your feelings."

"You think?" Peter asked.

As much as I wanted to be encouraging, there was a little voice in my head that really did not want Peter to go. But I shut it aside, knowing how much Peter was hurting when his aunt was hurting.

I lifted my hand to his chin and softly kissed Peter on the lips. I stopped as I was pulling away afterwards, glancing up into his eyes. They still glistened with innocence like the day I had first met him.

"I don't think I ever told you how much I like you." Peter said. "Even when the world was falling down around you, you still had hope. And you still do. And it lets me know that everything is going to be okay. That one day things will be normal again, even if they never seem like it."

We stopped in silence for a few moments before Peter pulled me into a hug.

I wrapped my arms around him as he held me close.

"Peter Parker, you ready?" Tony Stark called out to him, as he stood by the Avengers helicopter ready to take off.

"Just hurry back." I breathed in his ear before he pulled away.

What Peter didn't know is he was the reason I had peace. With Peter, I knew everything was going to be okay.

"You coming, Marley?" Tony yelled as Peter boarded the helicopter.

I laughed out loud at Tony.

"Not this time!"


End file.
